We won. The first game of the season and we won.

The first game doesn't really decide your position in the championship but it is a great confidence booster. Losing the first game and getting the team morale down was not on my to-do list when I stepped on the court.

The team surrounded me as the buzzer for the last quarter went out. You could hear the happiness in everyone's voice present on the court. Everyone was cheering and hooting.

Suddenly, Noah jumped on my back, making me stumble forward and hold on to Mason to keep my balance. I don't want to face plant the floor just yet.

"Yes, bitches! We did it!" He yelled in my ear, pumping his hand into the air.

"Get off my back! You pig!" I yelled back in reply.

He jumped off my back after one more round of cheering, and we all came together for a group hug.

"This was a great game. Great job, Trojans!" The coach said, clapping each one of us on our back.

I was looking around the court when the captain of the rival team came over and clapped me on my back, bringing my attention to him.

"Great game, Knight." He said and offered me his hand with a smile.

"Likewise, Gaudino." I shook his hand and clapped him on his shoulder with my other hand.

Leo Gaudino and I started together, and we have been playing against each other ever since I joined the college basketball team. He never got dirty or grumpy whenever he lost. Instead, he took it like a true athlete and I guess that's the reason he was my toughest rival for being the first pick on the draft.

"Come on, Knight. The girls are waiting in the parking lot." Noah yelled, over his way to the locker rooms.

Nodding at what Noah said, I turned back to Leo. "See you soon. I hope you stay in the league long enough for us to meet again." I smirked.

"Oh, don't worry about us. We'll be the one waiting for you if you make it to the last match." He smirked back.

"Good luck." I said sincerely, shaking his hand for the last time.

"Good luck."

With that, I made my way over to the locker room to hear the normal after-game conversation going on. I opened my locker and took out my phone to see a few messages from my family congratulating me and a message from Riley telling me they were waiting in the parking lot for us.

"Why are they in the parking lot, anyway?" Mason asked curiously as the three of us made our way to the parking lot.

"They are weird like that." Noah said shrugging.

"I second that." I nodded.

We reached just in time to prove what Noah and I just said. I cannot explain the scene in front of me, no matter how hard I try. Dani and Iris were trying to pick up Riley. Dani had both of Riley's hands in her hands while Iris picked up her legs and to top that, they were swinging her from side to side like lulling a baby to sleep.

This view is gonna haunt me in my dreams, I assure you.

"See, I told you." Noah said pointing to them.

"I am sorry for ever doubting you, Noah." Mason said with a very serious look on his face.

"What the hell are you guys doing?" I yelled, bringing attention to the three of us. My voice must have surprised them, because the next thing I saw was Riley on the ground, causing Noah and me to burst out laughing.

"Oh, shit." Dani and Iris said in unison and crouched down to check Riley for injuries.

"No, I am fine. My ass hurts but that must be because of the concrete." Reaching close, I offered Riley my hand and pulled her off of the ground.

"Oh, my god! You guys won." Suddenly, Dani yelled out of nowhere and jumped on Mason, who somehow caught her.

"Oh yes! Congratulations guys!" Iris joined Dani's cheering and hugged Noah, while Riley hugged me.

"Mom and Dad are so proud and happy." She whispered in my ear, quietly.

"Thank you." I smiled and squeezed her back.

Pulling back from her, I saw Iris laugh at something Noah said, causing her ponytail to fly backward. She was still in her cheer outfit. The skirt and the top fit her perfectly. Well, everything Iris wears fits her perfectly, so no shocker there.

"Mom said she might just fly down to congratulate you guys." Riley told us once all the congratulations were done. Not all if I were honest. Iris never congratulated me. Instead, she just gave me a small smile, which was very suspicious.

"Momma Knight knows no limits." Noah rolled his eyes, but he still had a small smile on his face.

"Okay, enough with the chitchat. You guys won! We need to celebrate." Dani said.

"Oh, my god! Look who finally arrived." Iris suddenly said in excitement, looking behind me.

Turning around, I found Grayson making his way over, but before he could reach us, Iris went over and hugged him.

Both of them had some shushed conversation, with smiles on their face before they came over to us. Grayson has become very close to me in such a brief span of time and I knew Iris and he are good friends, but I still couldn't help the envy spreading through my chest.

"Hey, guys! I am sorry. I just had to take a call." Grayson said, coming over with his arm wrapped around Iris' shoulder.

"Hey, it's cool." Noah said, shrugging.

"Congratulations Gray." Riley said and hugged Grayson, making him remove his arm from around Iris and instead wrap his arms around Riley, hugging her back.

"Congrats, Gray." Dani chimed in, giving him a side hug.

"Okay, coming back to celebrations. What's the plan?" Riley said, bringing us back on track.

"The guys on the team are having a party if you are interested?" Noah said, looking at her.

"No, I am so done with college parties already." Iris groaned and leaned her head on Gray's shoulder.

"Yeah, Iris is right. What about a club? We haven't gone to any club yet!" Dani said, looking at Mason with hopeful eyes.

"Sure, why not?" Mason said, shrugging, making Dani squeal in happiness.

"Okay, then it's settled. Let's meet in two hours and we'll go to a club." I said, finalizing the plan.

⤎❁⤏

It was almost two and half hours later when Noah and I pulled up in front of the girl's building. Mason and Dani had already left. They wanted to spend some time alone before all of us got together, which is quite fair, so it was upon Noah and me to pick up Iris and Riley as Gray decided to join us later.

"Why do they take so long to dress up?" Noah asked me as we knocked at their door.

"I don't know. Maybe because we actually look good." Riley answered for me as she opened the door.

"I have to say, you do actually look good, baby tiger." Noah hugged her.

"Thank you." She smiled at him and pulled back.

After she hugged me in greeting, the three of us walked into the living room.

"Make yourself at home like you always do. I'll be back in fifteen minutes." With that, she walked back inside her room.

"Looks like it's gonna take a while." I said, collapsing on the couch and grabbed the remote to turn on the tv.

"She looked ready to me." Noah said shrugging.

"Yeah, well..."

Before I could complete my reply, I heard the lock of a door click open. Turning around, I saw Iris' room door crack open, which was previously closed. I turned to Noah in confusion, but he simply shrugged in response.

"Hey Riley, I need help in here." I heard Iris yell, obviously calling for Riley.

Because my name is not Riley, I ignored the call and turned back to the Netflix home screen. A few minutes passed before Iris called again, and Riley still didn't reply.

"I think you should go check on her." Noah said, turning towards me with a small smirk on his face.

"Yeah? Why don't you go?" I responded instead.

"Yeah? You want me to go? Are you sure you don't want to spend a few uninterrupted minutes with Reed?" He said smugly.

"Fuck off!" I flipped him the bird and stood up. Few uninterrupted minutes with Reed are definitely tempting, especially when we have had no direct contact for two days.

Making my way to her room, I turned around one last time to see Noah now facing the television and watching a random episode of 'The Stranger Things'.

Turning back, I was about to open the door when I halted. All the hesitations and doubts came flowing in my mind. What if she really just needs Riley? Isn't it rude to enter someone's room without knocking? Should I knock? She wouldn't have unlocked the door if she wanted someone to knock. But knocking is a requirement, isn't it?

Shaking my head slightly to get rid of these thoughts, I simply pushed open the door to get rid of the doubts running through my head.

Looking up from the floor, I took in the sight in front of me. I could literally feel myself blanking out and just watching the girl standing in front of me with her back to me. In front of the mirror stood Iris, wrapped in an unzipped black dress with her hair bunched in one hand while her other tiny hand struggled to get the zipper at the back of her dress.

I was about to turn around and leave because standing here, unbeknownst to her, felt wrong. Just as I was about to turn, Iris looked over her shoulder, and her face contoured into an expression of confusion and surprise, making me freeze in my place.

"I was about to leave... I just thought I should check in case you needed any help." I said in a rush, feeling the urgency to explain myself.

Instead of telling me to get the hell out, she just turned out and looked down at the hardwood floor, making me mentally kick myself for being so stupid. I decided to just get out when she looked up, met my eye through the mirror, and said, "Do you mind?" referring to her zipper, which completely shocked me.

Coming out of my shocked trance, I cleared my throat and nodded my head in answer to her question. Swinging the door closed with the hand which was still on the doorknob, I slowly made my way over to where she was standing.

I came to a stop when my chest was lined with her back, so close I could almost feel the heat radiating off of her body. Looking up, my eye lined with hers in the mirror and it did not surprise me to see her eyes turn a shade darker.

Without my eyes away from hers, I took her in my hand and softly trailed my other hand along her zip. I hadn't even touched her properly yet, but I was pleased to see her breathing heavier than earlier.

Finally breaking eye contact, I looked down and started pulling up the zip. The tip of my fingers touched her smooth, milky skin as I glided the zipper along the length of her back. A small smile graced my lips when I felt her shiver and unconsciously lean towards me. After what felt like years, the zip was finally done. But I couldn't bring myself to let go of her just yet.

Instead of stepping back, as I should have, I took a tiny step forward and closed the space left between our bodies. I could feel all her soft curves against my hard ridges. And to be honest, it might be one of the best feelings in the world.

Collecting all the stray strands of her hair, I started placing feather-light kisses on the slope of her neck, making her let out a little moan and close her eyes because of the sparks flying between us. The sound made my pants tighten around my crotch, and I am sure she could feel the effect she had on me.

Wrapping my arms around her waist, I lightly pulled on her hair wrapped around my hand, making her head fall back on my shoulder and her hand tightened on my hand placed on her stomach.

"Ethan..." She whispered with her eyes still closed and her hands clenched.

"Hmm...." I hummed against the skin of her neck and gently bit down on the tender skin I've been kissing. The feeling of my teeth scraping against her sensitive skin made her shiver and moan, and that's when I knew that I just found her sweet spot.

The sounds she was making were a treat to hear, but at the same time, they were pulling at the strings of my restraint. I was very close to grabbing her elbow, turning her around, and kissing her senseless.

Both of us came crashing down from our highs when I heard Noah yell, "Come on, Iris. Ethan. We are going to be late."

⤎❁⤏

Hey guys! I know this is a very late update and I am so sorry for that. It wasn't because this chapter wasn't ready but because the next chapter was eating me alive. My stocked chapters were finally over and the next chapter is a really important one for me and I just wasn't getting it right. I didn't wanna post this until I had the next chapter ready because of many reasons but now, I am done with that, and here is your update. I hope you enjoy it.

On a very serious note, to all my readers living in India, please stay safe and stay inside your home. We all are going through very testing times, so please do anything you can to help everyone. If you have social media, now is the time to use it. Amongst everything going on, don't forget that you're important, and thank you for being a responsible citizen so far. If you've been checking the numbers regularly, don't forget to take a break every now and then because I know it's a lot to take in and it can take a toll on your mental health. If you're the one who has been staying away from the numbers, then please turn on your television and watch the numbers because right now, ignorance is not bliss. Stay Safe, Stay Grateful.

I hope you liked this chapter! Don't forget to vote and comment if you did and follow me on Instagram (spiicychoco) and Wattpad for updates.

QOTD: One thing that made you smile this week. 

My best friend and her boyfriend have been keeping their relationship private and off of social media but then a few days back, he posted a picture and she commented and I felt like my favorite celebrity couple just made it official and I had the biggest smile on my face.