She was everything I was told not to want.
Talia Maddox first-string cheerleader, campus golden girl, and girlfriend of the star quarterback. She wore short skirts and glossy lip gloss and had a laugh that sounded like summer breaking rules. Everyone wanted her, but she was always just out of reach like touching her would burn you.
That never stopped me from looking.
Or imagining.
We'd had classes together, exchanged flirtatious looks across lecture halls, once got paired up for a group project that ended with me watching her mouth wrap around the straw of a soda she didn't finish. She'd tilted her head and said, "You're dangerous," before walking away in a swirl of perfume and temptation.
Now, I was at the same party as her. One of those messy college nights where music pulsed through the walls and red Solo cups sloshed on every table. I didn't plan on seeing her here. But there she was perched on the kitchen counter, long legs crossed, pink tongue teasing the rim of her cup as she scanned the room like a queen bored with her court.
And then her eyes found mine.
She didn't look away.
Neither did I.
She hopped down slowly, hips swaying with practiced ease, and made her way over like the room wasn't filled with people watching her. Her cheer uniform was casual now sweater sleeves rolled, pleated skirt just a little too short, white sneakers that squeaked on the tiles.
"I didn't know you were coming," she said, coy.
"I didn't know you wanted me to," I replied.
That made her smile.
"Come with me."
I didn't hesitate.
She led me through the crowd, past bodies grinding and laughter slurring at the edges. We slipped into the hallway, then into a quiet guest bedroom. The moment the door closed, she leaned against it, hands behind her back, watching me like I was a challenge she'd already accepted.
"Everyone thinks I'm sweet," she murmured.
I stepped closer. "Are you not?"
Her fingers toyed with the hem of her skirt. "I like testing people."
"Test me."
Talia's lips curled into a wicked grin. She moved forward, slow and deliberate, pressing her body into mine. Her hand found my jaw, tilting my face down toward hers.
"You want to kiss me?" she asked.
"Since the first time I saw you in that damn uniform."
Her kiss came fast, sugar and fire, reckless and sure. Her fingers gripped my shirt as if anchoring herself to the moment. I kissed her back hard, unable to stop myself. Her lips were soft but insistent, and she moaned into my mouth like she'd been holding it back for too long.
She turned us, pushing me gently against the wall. "Do you like cheerleaders?" she whispered, dragging her fingers down my chest.
"I like you."
Her laugh was breathless. "Good answer."
Her hands slid beneath my shirt, nails grazing my skin, and I let out a low groan. Everything about her screamed control, but her touch was hungry, her movements erratic like she needed this to quiet something loud inside her.
"Talia…" I murmured, dragging my hand along her bare thigh, under her skirt. She gasped, her body arching into mine.
"No one's ever touched me here like they meant it," she confessed, eyes fluttering shut.
"Then let me mean it."
Her hands grabbed my wrists and placed them exactly where she wanted just under the hem of her skirt, against warm, trembling skin.
"Then do it," she whispered. "Seduce the cheerleader."
I took my time. I traced every inch of her with worshipful care, lips traveling over her throat, down to the valley between her breasts. She shivered, biting her lip to stay quiet, but I wanted to hear her. I wanted her to lose control.
"You don't have to be perfect with me," I said against her skin.
She whimpered then just a small sound but enough.
Talia wrapped her legs around my waist and let herself fall into it. Into me. Into whatever this was that buzzed between us like a live wire.
We ended up on the bed, tangled in sheets and secrets, where her uniform became my undoing. She kissed like she was chasing redemption, touched me like she needed proof she was still real.
And I gave her all of it. Slow, deep, honest.
Afterward, she lay beside me, hair wild, chest rising and falling, fingers tracing idle shapes on my stomach.
"I'm not who they think I am," she whispered.
"Neither am I."
She turned her head to look at me, mascara smudged, lips swollen.
"Promise me you won't pretend."
"I won't," I said. "Not with you."
She smiled, and for the first time that night, it wasn't flirtatious. It was real.
And just like that, I realized: I hadn't just seduced the cheerleader.
She had undone me too.
The room was quiet except for the muffled bass of the party seeping through the walls, like the outside world was still demanding our attention. But lying there with her, it felt impossibly far away.
Talia shifted onto her side, propping her head up with her hand. She studied me in silence, her gaze sharp and unflinching, like she was memorizing every detail she wasn't supposed to want.
"You know this can't leave this room," she said softly, though there was an edge to it.
I swallowed, nodding. "I know."
"Because if it does…" Her voice trailed off. She didn't have to finish the sentence. The quarterback. The squad. The whole golden-girl reputation she wore like a crown.
But beneath it, I could see it now, the cracks, the pieces of herself she kept hidden behind lip gloss and perfect smiles.
I reached out, brushing my thumb over her jaw. "I don't want your crown," I said. "I just want you."
Her eyes softened, just for a second. Then she smirked, covering the moment with her usual armor. "Dangerous words."
"Truth," I countered.
Talia leaned down, kissing me again. This time slower, less about heat and more about the sweetness of being seen. Her fingers threaded into my hair, pulling me closer, and I let myself sink into her until the world outside didn't matter.
When she finally pulled back, she rested her forehead against mine. "You make me feel… reckless. And safe. At the same time."
"Maybe that's what you've been looking for."
Her laugh was quiet, almost disbelieving. She rolled onto her back, staring at the ceiling. "If anyone knew I was here with you right now…"
"They won't," I promised. "This stays between us."
She turned her head, eyes finding mine again. "Do you want it to?"
The question hung heavy in the air. Did I want this to stay a secret? No. But wanting her at all was already breaking rules.
I slid closer, wrapping an arm around her waist, pulling her against me. "For now, it has to. But when I look at you, I don't see a secret. I see someone worth the risk."
Her lips curved into a small, vulnerable smile. She kissed me once more, lingering, before whispering against my mouth, "Then maybe I'll let you keep testing me."
And just like that, I knew this wasn't the end of Talia Maddox. This was only the beginning of the fire we were about to start.