Rules Of The Game: Book 1

41; The Fourth Stage Of Grief... Depression

𝙳𝚎𝚌𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟹, 𝙵𝚛𝚒𝚍𝚊𝚢
𝟷𝟻 𝙳𝚊𝚢𝚜
Miles POV

Two weeks later, Parker and I start falling into a steady rhythm.

Since his football shit is done for the year, we've had way more time to spend with each other outside of school. Seeing each other on the weekends has turned into late Wednesday night dates at the diner, Thursday night sleepovers where we never end up sleeping, early Tuesday mornings where we watch the sunrise over the Golden Gate Bridge, and Monday afternoon study sessions.

Life couldn't be any more perfect in these moments.

Besides, I'm dying to spend every single second with Parker that I can. Especially after my little freak-out a few weeks ago. I've been keeping myself on a short leash and pushing down the thought of the future by drowning myself in the present.

Parker adjusts himself in between my legs, jostling me out of the memories. He lets out a big sigh and smacks his pencil down on the paper. "This is fucking stupid. The damn x doesn't equal to anything! Why did our school think hiring a deteriorating ninety-year-old woman to teach math would be a good idea?!"

My lips twitch as I hold down a smile. There is always a time and a place to feed into Parker's annoyance, but this isn't it. It would be like laughing at a toddler's actions— they'll notice that their behavior got a reaction, so they will bring their next action to a whole new level. We need to be focused on our homework, not gossiping about the zombie teacher.

"Park, if x doesn't equal anything, then maybe that's the answer," I offer and glance up from my science notecards.

He sighs dramatically again and leans forward to push the papers away. As some of the papers slip off the bed, he leans back between my legs and slides down, the back of his head leaning on my abdomen. The hairs on the back of my neck stand when he wraps a hand around my knee and kisses my thigh. "I think the answer to all of my problems is to be done with homework. For now," he adds when I raise an eyebrow at him.

"Finals are coming up soon, ya know," I respond and shift my leg when he kisses my skin again. Every nerve in my body lights on fire. It's been three weeks of us being handsy with each other, but I'm still not entirely used to it. Each touch feels like the first time with him.

"Fuck that. I've already got a basket full of colleges to pick from. I don't need school anymore," Parker grumbles and gently runs his teeth over my thigh.

God, I've been teaching him good.

"Um, yeah, you don't need school!" I scoff and bop his head with a notecard. "Some of us don't have NFL teams already fighting over our name."

Parker scowls and tilts his head backward to look up at me. "One, I don't have NFL teams fighting over me. Two, even if I did, that would be a good reason for you not to worry. I've already said that I'll be your sugar daddy." His scowl turns into a bright grin as he sits up to face me. "I could get used to you calling me daddy."

"What?" I laugh at the thought and set my notecards off to the side. It seems that we're done studying for the evening, anyway. "Don't start that shit when I'm the one who always tops."

Parker snorts, and his cheeks go red, but he doesn't look away. "That's because you never let me try."

"Mhm." I hum, looking him up and down. "Let's pretend like that's the only reason."