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

My hands fidget as I nervously sit here waiting for my date. Can I call it a date? Does it count if I’ve found a guy willing to tend to my needs and bump uglies for just one night? My mother is probably rolling in her grave looking down on me. This kind of thing is beyond her southern comforts but it’s not like I have a choice at this point. It’s been months and I’ve got needs.

I glanced around the tables, watching as friends laughed and lovers kissed. I remember when I used to feel those emotions. When I was so happy it felt like bubbles were popping in my stomach and I couldn’t wait for the next day. Now though, I’ve felt devoid of energy and emotion. For four years I’ve been trying to get my lust for life back and I thought I had it with Clay in Louisiana. Too bad that ended as badly as a fart in a spacesuit and had me running back to California faster than you could say Buzz Aldrin.

Maybe a one-night stand is just what I need. It’s not like I’ve ever had a random hook up before and if Cole really looks like his pictures, then I’m in for a treat. All those fake romantic dates on The Bachelor have me craving something more real, more carnal. There might even be a small thrill of excitement trickling down the base of my spine. Maybe this will finally be the night I get my itch well and truly scratched.

After checking my watch, I’m starting to get cold feet. He’s ten minutes late. Who arrives ten minutes late for guaranteed sex? Maybe I was being trolled. That guy did look way too hot to be real. What if he walked in and turned straight around? I would be mortified if he cancels on me. Right. I can’t sit here any longer. I need out. I pushed out the barstool and just as the tips of my feet hit the floor, ‘Hey darlin’,’ a deep southern accent stops me in my tracks. Much thicker than Clay’s and not what I was expecting in our Northern Californian college.

Taking a chance, I let my eyes travel from his well-worn Timberlands up. They travel all the way from his faded ripped jeans to his tight black shirt and my mouth is watering before I’ve even reached his face. That shirt does little to hide his sculpted abs and biceps. This guy is so stacked, I’m finding it difficult to think straight.

Wiping away the drool that has no doubt fallen from my mouth, I continue my perusal of this Adonis of a man and choke back a nervous laugh as I finally look at his face. His chiseled bone structure is striking, and his hazel eyes are everything. Why on earth is this guy on a dating app? Surely he has girls lining up to climb him like a tree? What’s the catch?

‘Hey,’ I drawl out, trying not to choke on my words. ‘It’s Cole, right?’ I say as casually as I can, pretending I didn’t stare at that gym selfie like it was a Netflix show I was in the middle of bingeing last night. I still can’t believe he’s here for a hook up. DATE. I meant DATE.

He gives me a slow nod and my goodness; he could literally breathe, and it would be sexy. ‘Yeah, and you’re Reign.’ He states, shoving his hands in his jeans pockets, leaning forward on his heels. I nod, giving him a slow smile which he returns. There’s an awkward silence between us. What do we do now? We both agreed this would be a one-night stand, so do we just go to my place, or do we have drinks first? There’s no way I can leave here without a drink, I’m going to need alcohol in my system to muster up the courage to get naked and mount this hot piece of man meat. Unlike him, I do not wear small clothes to emphasize my abs, or lack thereof.

‘Can I take a seat?’ He motions towards the booth and I make some embarrassing grumbles, shuffling to make room. As he relaxed down, I took in his intoxicating scent. It’s a mix of fresh laundry and pine. At least it’s a sign he showered and put clean clothes on before he came out. That’s a lot more than I can say for Clay. Stop bringing him up. He’s an ass.

The booth isn’t made for someone of Cole’s girth. Cole’s Girth… Stop it Reign! Stop thinking about Cole and his girthiness. As he moves further into the booth, our arms, and thighs touch, sending electricity through me. I try to hide the yelp but I’m sure he hears it. While he gets comfortable, I maneuver myself so I’m leaning back against the wall, but my knees knock his thighs in this position. This booth is definitely too small for the two of us. As I try to adjust, my eyes wander down to his corded arms again. Those biceps can’t be real?! 

The only thing alerting me to the fact that I’m biting down on my lip hard is the pain coursing down my back and Cole’s inquisitive glare. Cole smirked as he watched me let my lip go and I can feel my cheeks flushing at his predatory stare already. If I’m this bad around him now, how the heck am I going to survive the night?!

He’s looking at me and I’m looking at him, the silence swallowing up any calmness, replacing it with thick tension. I think of a question and just as I muster up the courage to ask, the waitress comes over to take our drinks order. The anticipation is killing me. How long have I got to make idle conversation with this guy? We both know that’s not why we’re here. We accidently catch each other’s eyes and I swear for a split second there was fear and uncertainty in his too. He can’t be nervous, can he? The thought makes me start to laugh. Not one of those cute girly giggles. No. One of those hardy deep chuckles that would be awkward enough if I could stop it. I can’t though. It just keeps coming out, but strangely, he joins in.

‘Sorry!’ I blurt. ‘I’m not laughing at you. I’ve never done this before and it’s just… well, you know… awkward.’ I say assuming that my roaming eyes are enough to explain that the awkwardness is all because he’s too good-looking to be real.

‘Don’t worry,’ He flashes a reassuring smile. ‘It’s fine. I get it. This is my first time.’ He paused. That can’t be the end of his sentence, right? His eyes bore into me while I feel mine pop out of my head. There it is. The reason why this guy needs a dating app for hookups. It’s because he’s never actually hooked up with anyone. How did this happen? What did I do to deserve the honor of deflowering him?! ‘I meant on a dating app,’ He clarified, my eyes must have been running wild. God Reign, focus! Of course, this guy isn’t a virgin. Your clothes nearly came off just looking at him.

‘Why are you on a dating app? You clearly don’t need it.’ I blurt out, immediately regretting it. He doesn’t seem fazed by my outburst and as I look at his arm muscles again, I notice they flex under my scrutiny. I wonder what they would look like flexing over me.

‘I could ask you the same thing,’ He smiles smoothly interrupting my thoughts. I rolled my eyes, groaning at his response. There I was asking him a genuine question and he thinks I’m fishing for compliments.

That’s when it hits me. ‘Do you have a girlfriend?’ I ask, eyeing him up suspiciously. There must be an explanation for why he’s here. My eyes widen when I come to a sudden realization. ‘Oh, God. You’re married, aren’t you?!’

‘No’ he chuckles, ‘I’m neither of those things.’ He shrugs off my questions, ‘I’ve just found myself around the same sort of girls all through college and I wanted to see if there was something different out there.’ His eyes roamed my face, occasionally flicking down my body.

I scrunch my face, ‘So you picked me?’ I’m not sure whether to be complimented or insulted. I know I’m not the typical jersey chaser, but I wouldn’t say I’m that different.

He nods and starts squirming in his seat, a surprising gesture for such a bulky guy. ‘Yeah,’ He says cautiously. ‘You’re beautiful… and you seem different.’ He answers honestly, using that word again. Albeit in a positive way. I want to think he’s just laying on the charm to prep me for getting naked but there’s a vulnerability behind his eyes. I can’t help but smile at his genuineness.

‘Why am I different?’ Yes, now I’m fishing for compliments. It’s not every day a guy who looks like this says something like that to me. This might be my only opportunity and I’m taking advantage.

‘Well for starters, you’re wearing more clothes than any girl I’ve dated since I enrolled here.’ He gestures to my black skinny jeans and matching lacey top. It’s not horrendously revealing because I kind of thought he would see the goodies anyway. Might as well keep something a surprise until it happens.

‘That says more about you than them.’ I point out and he chuckled, looking back at me with the kind of heat I’ve never felt from a guy before. Tension is already building between us and I can feel the two of us starting to relax with each other. That is, until the waitress drops our drinks off, reminding me I’m sitting in a bar with the most gorgeous guy I’ve ever laid eyes on. I wonder what the waitress was thinking when she saw us together.

‘I like a confident girl.’ He winked and it’s just then I noticed how bright his eyes are, sea greens and browns mixed together, making the most beautiful hazel I’ve ever seen. It’s like looking at the sand underneath the sea on a sunset walk. ‘And I liked how you told me exactly what you wanted from this date.’ The first thing he asked me after we matched on the app if I really was just looking for a one-night stand. When I said yes, he insisted on meeting me and obviously I wasn’t going to turn him down.

‘Yeah well, on that other point…This isn’t really a date is it?’ I cocked my eyebrow, looking at him questioningly. I know, I know. I just spent the last ten minutes trying to convince myself it was, but looking at him, there’s no way he would go on a date with me so we should just call it like it is. A hook up that apparently, we both desperately need.

His eyes widened. ‘Wow.’ His perfect lips forming the perfect ‘O’. ‘Shall we just leave now and get down to business then?’ He laughs.

I shook my head, flagging the waitress down to order another round of drinks. ‘Oh no. If I’m going to do this, I’m going to need a few more drinks.’ I replied and polished off my first gin and tonic while Cole watched me intently.’

‘Am I really that bad that you need to be sloppy drunk to even consider having sex with me?’ If only I had the courage to point out his striking resemblance to Magic Mike. Instead, I just whacked him gently on the chest, almost hurting my wrist in the process. He must be an athlete with a body as hard as this.

‘Oh, you know that’s not it. I thought I was being catfished, that’s why I need a drink. I was expecting a forty-year-old man or something.’ He watches me take another sip of my second G and T.

Eyes hooded, he asked, ‘Would you have still gone through with it if I was forty?’

‘Irrelevant.” I quipped with a cocked brow. “I think the real question is am I going to go through with it now.’

His lips curved on one side in a smirk. ‘I already know the answer to that.’

‘You do?’

‘Yup. I saw you wipe away the drool when I said your name. It’s clear you’re a sucker for a southerner… Or at least I hope you’re a sucker.’ My jaw drops open in shock. ‘Oh look, you’re already getting ready.’ He chuckled and it immediately made me shut my mouth and smack him on the arm again. I can feel my face flush with embarrassment. What the heck have I gotten myself into here? I down the rest of my drink. Dutch Courage is needed tonight.

‘You’ve rendered me speechless. That doesn’t happen often.’ I admit, placing the glass down.

‘Good as what we agreed to do doesn’t involve much talking anyway.’ The glint in his eye and smirk on his lips is making this whole exchange pretty hot.

Bringing my next drink up to tip with his, ‘That’s why I need this.’ The clink of the glasses is like an iron clad agreement. This is going to happen, and I swallow the hot liquid hoping this was a good decision.

‘How about we play a little drinking game to loosen us up?’ He suggested, drawing closer to me, and his mere presence making me feel weak.

He’s so close, his chin is nearly resting on my shoulder and my lips are mere inches away from his. There’s something about his playful expression and easy demeanor that has me playing along. ‘Oh yeah? Like what?’ I question, surveying the crowd. ‘It’s not like we can play strip poker in here.’

He takes in a sharp breath and I wonder if I’m affecting him the way he’s affecting me. ‘I was thinking more along the lines of Truth or Dare with a twist, but I like the way you think. Let’s save that for later.’ He finishes with a wink.

‘What’s the twist?’

‘If you choose dare, it’s always a kiss between us.’ My eyes drop down to his bow lips and an overwhelming ache radiates through my body. How I want them to be against mine. ‘But it can’t be on the lips.’

My heart rate increases even more. This is the most extreme form of foreplay I’ve ever taken part in. ‘I’m not sure.’

He looks down at my body, then back up to my eyes with a wolfish grin. ‘Well, if we go ahead with what we have planned, we’ll be kissing more than what’s on show here.’ Cocking his eyebrow, challenging me.

Grabbing my drink, I take another long sip and nod my head. It’s all the encouragement he needs. ‘Alright, Truth or Dare?’ He asks.

‘Truth,’

‘Okay, easy one. Where are you from?’

‘Are we really going to play the get to know you game? This is supposed to only be a one-night thing.’

Chuckling, a deep, husky, sexy chuckle he nodded. ‘You’re right. I’ll make it harder for you. Have you ever had multiple orgasms?’ Looking at him shocked, he shrugs, ‘New rule, since you didn’t answer the first one, you have to answer both.’ As if on purpose, he swipes his tongue out, licking his plump lips, readying himself for the inevitable. My body tingled at the thought of the places his tongue would be tonight.

‘I’m originally from California, but I’ve lived in Louisiana for the last four years.’ I answer quickly.

‘I knew you loved Southern boys.’ Gosh that smile of his could light up a room.

‘Not anymore.’

‘Bad ex?’

I shook my head. ‘It doesn’t matter.’ There’s no point talking about it now. It’s happened and I’m here to get over it so I should just focus on the hot guy in front of me. ‘Truth or Dare?’ I ask him.

‘I believe you need to answer the second question darlin’,’ Urgh. I was hoping he wouldn’t remember.

‘No.’ I quip. That’s all the detail he gets, and he seems satisfied.

‘Well, we’ll just have to deal with that tonight then.’ He contemplated into his drink. What I wouldn’t give to know what he’s thinking about right now. I’m hot just thinking about it.

I leaned forward, getting further into his personal space and liking the intake of breath he had. We were already so close I’m now practically on his lap. ‘Truth or dare?’ I asked, swiping my own lips with my tongue, watching his reaction.

‘Dare,’ He doesn’t give me any time to prepare as his rough hands grabbed my cheeks on either side. The way he came in, I was fully expecting him to kiss my lips, but he doesn’t. Instead, he rests his forehead on mine, searches my eyes and gently dips his lips down, planting the lightest kiss on the corner of my mouth. If I didn’t see him do it, I would question if it happened. He lingered there, letting me bask in the cinnamon scent as he pulled away. That move alone has my body heaving for breath.

He relaxes back on the barstool, taking a swig of his beer and looks around the bar, as though he hasn’t noticed how flustered I am. ‘Truth or Dare, Reign?’ He smiled when he finally looked back at me. That’s when I realized he knows exactly what kind of torture he’s inflicting.

‘Truth,’ I push out and he looks bored. I can’t kiss him, not just yet. I want to keep him waiting.

‘Are you a Freshman? I’ve never seen you around campus.’

‘I thought we already put an end to all these get to know you questions.’

He holds his big paws up and I swear one of his palms could wrap around the entirety of my thigh. ‘Hey, you asked for truth but since you’ve questioned it again, you have to answer this too. When was the last time you had sex?’

Why on earth does he want to know that? ‘Fine. I’m a Sophomore, I transferred from LSU last semester. Honestly, I don’t want to think about the last time, but it was over six months ago and that’s all you’re getting.’

‘Hey, you gave more than enough in that answer.’ He replied and that’s when the buzz starts to kick in. Four gins down and I’m starting to loosen up in the best way possible.

‘Truth or Dare, Cole.’

‘Dare.’ This time, he lifts my wrist up to his lips and keeps his eyes on me as he slowly and sensually kisses the soft skin there. It immediately sends tingles through my body, straight down to my panties. I was not expecting that. I feel his smile against my wrist as he kisses deeper, watching the shock on my face.

The way his tongue flicks out and tickles my skin ignites a burning in my belly. I want Cole. More than I’ve wanted anything or anyone before. ‘Truth or Dare?’ He asks, still holding my wrist hostage. Still flicking, licking and biting me.

‘Dare,’ I’m ready and as I lean closer to him, letting our breath mingle, I move to the side of his face and gently kiss the skin just behind his ear. I’ve had to drape myself over him to get here and his hands grip my hips, biting into my flesh as I nip his earlobe. ‘Truth or dare?’ I whispered into his ear.

He growled, forcing me onto his lap and I don’t hear his response, I just feel his face nuzzling into my neck, biting and kissing the sensitive skin, burning every part of me he touches. I moaned, grabbing the collar of his shirt, and leaning my head back for easier access. I want to feel his lips everywhere.

Cole looked up at me, his lips only inches from mine. He glanced down at my mouth, then back up to my eyes, leaning closer in. I knew what he wanted. I wanted it too. I finally let him press his soft warm lips against mine. The minute his lips touched me, I moaned, enjoying the feeling of his hands all over me and vaguely aware that we look like horny teenagers allowed to touch for the first time, but I wasn’t about to stop it.

When his tongue slipped into my mouth, I knew I was done for, every flick and move making my whole-body shudder. Our bodies moved together, and it was borderline indecent the way we teased each other. When his fingers grappled onto my hips and moved me suggestively against him, I was gone for. I didn’t want this moment to end but I knew it had to if I wanted more. ‘We should get out of here,’ I whispered against his mouth, flustered and hot. He nodded in response. ‘My place is only ten minutes from here.’

‘Let’s go.’ He says as he grabs my hand.