never have i ever ➣ joey trotta

3

Chapter 3: Stud

JOEY

it's pitch black outside, which makes me wonder why i'm awake. i don't usually wake up before my alarm goes off, especially on days that i'm hungover as shit. my head's absolutely pounding and i don't think my stomach will be able to hold down any breakfast this morning. i attempt to turn over and fall back asleep when i feel a tug on my arm, which is when i realize autumn is cuddled into my side. i peer downwards, noticing that i'm not wearing any pants and neither is she. it's not exactly abnormal for us to sleep together, but only on very rare occasions; if she has a nightmare, if i have a nightmare, if it's cold... but we always have clothes on. this leads me to believe i woke up because my conscience knew i wouldn't want to face this situation when everyone is already up.

i stare intensely at ceiling, wondering how to dress myself without waking her up. i decide to just go for it and sit up, trying to softly remove my arm from under her neck. i succeed in sneaking out of bed successfully, pulling some jogging pants and a plain t-shirt over my body. i take a pair of shorts and a shirt that belong to autumn in hopes that i can get her to put them on.

when i'm back on the bed, i lift her legs lightly and attempt to slide them up her body. she shifts, letting me know that she's awoken. i should've known this would be pushing it. i realize that this could look really bad from her point of view, and that she'll remember it because she remembers everything wether she's drunk or not. we kind of make a power couple in that sense, because i sober up very fast and i don't stay drunk for very long. we both tolerate alcohol pretty well. "what're you doing?" she rasps, still evidently tired.

"putting your pants back on," i whisper. she lifts her hips, allowing me to slip the shorts on her with ease. i want to ask why we're not wearing clothes, but judging by the look of shame on her face, i think i have my answer... i'm not going to further embarrass her by questioning it. "we don't have to talk about it if you don't want to..." i trail off as i lay back down beside her. she nods, biting her lip with an unreadable expression on her face.

AUTUMN

i kick the the small pebbles that lay astray on the field of grass. i watch as the game unfolds in front of me and the players on my team are carrying the ball toward the opposing goal. behind the action, i see a blurry figure that becomes clearer as i stare at it longer. see, this is why i petitioned to have the field hockey team practice on the field behind the school. there's no way i can focus on my game when joey's soccer team practices directly across from us— and it seems that it would be beneficial for their game play as well, because the amount of times joey and i make eye contact throughout our practices can't be counted on two hands. i'm sure billy and emma can vouch for this point too.

speak of the devil, joey and i meet eyes from across the field and i can just barely make out his wink. see, this type of thing doesn't affect him much because he's the goalie; he doesn't get much action anyway. however, i play defence and i'm basically always supposed to be alert— and just like every time, i'm snapped back into the game by my coach's yelling. "would you keep your eye on the ball, andrews?" she scoffs, an anxious nod coming from me. "it's that damn trotta kid again, huh? i'm about to go over there and talk some sense into him unless you can learn control yourself— and i know you can." she raises an eyebrow menacingly.

"that won't be necessary, ma'am," i mumble shyly, my cheeks heating up from embarrassment and the fact that everyone's attention is on me. out of the corner of my eye i can see emma on the verge of bursting out in laughter. "i can learn to control myself," the coach shifts her gaze between the two of us, finally just calling the practice off.

"stretches!" she calls out, making sure that none of the players leave without loosening their limbs out. this is the routine every day, em and i sit far enough away from the group that we can have our own private conversation but close enough that the coach knows we're still engaged.

JOEY

soccer practice is supposed to end at 3:45 pm sharp every day but the coach has had to make some changes and it now ends at 3:30. he claimed the team was 'too distracted to put 110% into the last 15 minutes of practice'. no one was really shocked, because the field hockey team has stretches from 3:30 to 3:45 and it just so happens that they face the opposite direction as our field... hey, it is not my fault that their uniform consists of a short skirt and not much else. so clearly, we all have bigger priorities than the last 15 minutes of practice.

so now we use this time to do some stretches of our own, though i can imagine ours are not nearly as sexy as the girls make them look. the best thing about this whole set up is the fact that autumn and emma stretch further away from the group— and closer to us— so billy and i get a front row view of our girls. well, his girl and my best friend. you know what i mean. "practice is over, joey," ricardo laughs at me and the fact that i'm staring at my best friend.

i release my bottom lip, which now feels swollen from how hard i was biting it. i didn't even realize that i was so caught up in the spectacle in front of us. i squirt some water into my mouth from my squeezable water bottle, following ricardo, billy and phil to pick the girls up from their practice. i see that they've gone later than usual today, so i take it upon myself to pick up autumn's bag full of her equipment and swing it over my shoulder.

we only wait for another three minutes before they finish up and come running to us. i notice that autumn's brought one of her roommates, violet, along with her. "oh, sorry, vi. i didn't get your bag," i apologize. she dismisses my sorry, waving her hand in front of her face and runs back to get her bag with a big smile on her face.

autumn glances between me and the bag hanging off of my shoulder, proceeding to look at me like she does every time i do husband-material things. like she doesn't know how she hasn't married me yet. which is why i continue to do husband-material things. i like that look.

when violet returns, we all continue our journey back to the dorms. "how's everyone feeling after last night?" vi wiggles her eyebrows as she didn't attend last nights events. i'm guessing one of the girls told her about our experience during practice at some point. my face pales slightly, knowing what autumn and i were up to last night.

"like shit," ricardo groans.

"me too," billy pipes up.

"i sweat it all out at practice today," i flex, sarcastically speaking to the rest of the gang.

"gosh, joey. you're such a stud," autumn's tone is laced with sarcasm as she jokingly gazes up at me dreamily. i laugh, nudging her shoulder lightly as a gesture of hurt. "speaking of studs: snuff tried to break out of the basement last night," she giggles to herself. i try my best to imagine our wholesome snuffy trying to escape this prison of a school and can't even remotely picture it.

we finally reach the girls' dorms. billy walks emma further down the hall to her dorm while i stop at 347 to drop autumn and violet off. "later, joseph," vi waves, entering her dorm, leaving autumn and i outside.

"thanks for carrying my bag, stud." she whispers in my ear.

{A/N: sorry for the switching in POV in this chapter, i know it's kinda annoying, but thank you for all the support!! love y'all!!}