You Play the Field - I Play the Strings

Chapter 53

"Yeah, thanks Tanya!" I wave to the girl as we both head to our separate halls. She had been the one to pick me up from practice today.

"Of course Cal!" She calls, walking backward and almost tripping on air. The clumsy girl quickly straightens herself before laughing, making me laugh.

I walk as I laugh, not wanting to get distracted and stuck in a conversation. I could talk to Tanya forever. I mean, it. Like hours. At the moment, I need to get back to Conner though. I can tell he's frustrated; I've barely seen him today, but just from his text. He's obviously trying not to come off as frustrated, but he is.

I take the stairs with my guitar slung across my back and slowly make my way up them. Very thankful when I get to our floor. I walk a little faster than normal as I fumble to get my key out.

The electronic machine beeps even though my card is still an inch or two away and I roll my eyes at the mechanism that hates me and my dorm mate so much. It was just like our last room. The locks just hate us. Nobody else seems to have this much trouble. Well, at least it's reading it and not locking us out anymore. I open the door, and like I thought there's not a happy boyfriend.

"God damn it!" He shouts, his back to me. He has no shirt on and a tube of something in his hand. I step in quietly and close the door, startling him. He whips around, face surprised but he quickly composes himself. I can still see the quirk in his brow and the anger in his eyes, but he once again tries to get rid of it, relaxing his body.

"Oh, hi, Cally. Sorry about that," he sighs, running his free hand through his hair. I prop my guitar case up next to my bed before going back over to him. I hesitantly place a hand on his bicep, staring up at him.

"Hi. What's going on?" I ask, reaching my other hand up to push his hair back. He leans his head into my hand, and I smile just watching.

"I got angry. My scar's been hurting, and it reminded me of things. I saw that Royce and Jerron were allowed back after their suspension today, so that made everything so much better." He starts to rile himself up again.

I take my hand from his head and reach over for the tube in his hand, which he lets me have immediately.

"Now what is this for? Because I know it's not your scar stuff?" I ask, trying to read the tube that seems to be written for geniuses because I do not understand a damn word.

"Well, it kind of goes with me being pissed off. I went too hard on my workout and pulled something in my shoulder blade, but now I can't reach the damn spot!" He throws his head back, just mad. His teeth clenched and his jaw locked.

"I'll do it for you," I tell him happily, and he takes another deep breath in.

"Go lay down," I nudge him, and he smiles, finally, before doing what I asked of him. He lays on his stomach, resting his head on his hands, looking over at me as I register my next move.

Toeing my shoes off and shaking off my coat, I lay it over the end of my bed before making my way over to my boyfriend. I sigh to myself, not believing I was willingly doing this before I straddle his back.

"Mmm, I love when you're on top of me," he groans, stretching out underneath me.

"Conner, that sounds so perverted!" I huff, lightly smacking his arm that was trying to reach back and grab me.

"Oh, I know," he chuckles. I roll my eyes again before looking at his shoulder blades.

"Which side?" I ask, my probably cold hand running up his spine just trying to give him some sort of touch.

"Left side," I nod, my hand moving to that side.

"Tell me when I touch the right spot," I say as his eyes flutter shut, my hand moving around his shoulder blade. After a second of searching, he groans.

"That area."

"Sorry," I apologize, retracting my hand and opening the tube as I put a bit of clear ointment on my hand.

"It's okay; it's just tender," he assures me.

I once again go in, rubbing my hand over the spot a lot more softly than before. Gentle. He needs gentle.

"Conner..." I trail off, not sure what exactly I wanted to say. I mean, I knew what I wanted to say but wasn't sure how to word it. I screw the lid back on the tube, leaning over to set it on the floor before massaging my hands into his lower back.

"What happened? I thought you were going to keep talking," he teases as I knead into his skin.

"When you're angry, can you try telling me first? I know you're trying to shelter me from this side of you, but I want to know. To help you. I feel like I've done pretty good the few times I've seen you angry." I explain, my hands stopping on his back.

"Can you move off of me for a moment, please, baby?" He asks, and I stupidly nod, shifting off of him, scared I hit a nerve.

He turns onto his side, cringing at his shoulder before reaching forward to pull me back on him. I straddle his lap now face to face with him. His hands rest happily on my thighs.

"Sorry, I just wanted to see your face," he explains with a giant smile.

"It's okay," I smile, quickly covering it with my hand, flushed and embarrassed.

"Cally... I just worry. I do get pretty angry. I don't want you ever feeling scared of me. Or what if you can't calm me down and you feel bad? I will never hurt you... ever. So you don't have to worry about that," he squeezes my thighs in his hands, getting his point across as I nod, smiling down at him.

"Conner, I would do anything for you. You know this. So if I know you're angry and I can't help, that means you need alone time, and I'll understand. As long as you're safe, I don't care how you let your anger out," I lean down, my hands going to either side of his head to keep me up as I brush my lips against his.

"You can let out that anger anyway you want. I know fucking me makes you feel better. Maybe you can do that," I flirt. His eyes widen, and both hands leave my thighs, one cupping my ass, the other grabbing my hair to pull me down into a gentle kiss.

He pulls away from me too soon, and I lean in more, desperate to feel his lips on mine.

"You deserve gentle. I won't fuck you because I'm angry. Unless—do you want me to be rougher with you sometimes, Callum?" He asks, his expression genuinely curious.

"Stop! You're turning this onto me—I was just suggesting. Noooo". I bury myself in his neck as he moves his hands to rub up and down my back. I huff to myself as they slip under my sweatshirt, feeling my skin, and once again just pressing into my back.

"Cally, is that something you want?" He asks again. I shake my head, embarrassed by the turn of the conversation.

"I like when you're gentle with me. I like when you're nice," I whisper back, extremely embarrassed.

"That's good. That's completely okay. I love being nice to you. Worshipping this lovely body of yours," he assures me, and I sit up a bit to look back into his eyes.

"Are you feeling angry at all anymore?" I murmur, trying to change the subject.

"Nope, you were right once again. You cured me," he smiles, and I lean in again, capturing his lips in mine. I press further into him, hips pressing down against his waist, getting a groan in reply.

"Fuck, baby—" he just cuts himself off, pulling away enough to look over my body.

"I told myself I was going to start studying for exams," he chuckles to himself as I blush, obviously shy after attempting to hint at more.

"You can still study," I give him an out, sitting up some more. This was the wrong move as he once again groans, moving his hands from inside my shirt to grip my sides.

"Oh, for sure. I'll let you read the flashcards as I thrust into you, sound good?" He jokes as I open and close my mouth like a fish without water.

He laughs at my expression. I shake my head to get myself out of my starstruck state, leaning right back in to press my lips into his.

"I'm glad you're feeling better," I murmur, barely parting from his lips to speak. My eyes, however, are trained up on his eyes, giving away how in love I really am with this man.

"You always make me feel better."