Falling for the Backup

by Toni Aleo

  “Tough loss.”

  Shea nodded. “Yup, I hate losing to them.”

  “Me too,” Jordan replied, before changing the subject. “How’s Elli?”

  A wide, loving smile came over Shea’s face at the mention of his wife—and the team’s owner—who was pregnant with a set of twins. “Good. The boys are getting big, and she thinks she looks like a whale. I think she is beautiful, though.”

  For some crazy reason, an image of Aynslee pregnant appeared in Jordan’s mind. He quickly shook his head, shocked by the thought. They had been together for only three weeks; why was he already thinking of that?

  “When is she due?” he asked, trying to clear his head.

  “End of June, but it might be sooner. The doctors are thinking end of May, early June. The boys are doing great, but she went early with the girls and they were fine, so we’ll see.”

  Jordan had always been close with the Adlers and considered them his extended family. He had visited them when their daughters, Shelli and Posey, were born, and it hurt to know that he wouldn’t get to see the new twins except through text messages. He knew he could always fly back, but would they want to see him after he left the team?

  “Shea, I have something to tell you.”

  “Yeah?”

  Taking a deep breath, Jordan glanced down before he said, “I’m looking at other teams.”

  When Shea didn’t say anything, Jordan looked up to see his friend staring forward, his mouth in a straight line.

  “I know, and I’m surprised you lasted the whole season. I would have left sooner. You are too good a goalie to sit on the bench, Ryan. I know that and so does Elli. We’ll miss you, but we understand.”

  “Thanks, I appreciate that,” Jordan said sadly. This sucked, and it was more than likely going to be worse when he really left. It would be hard to walk away from his friends, but he already knew that walking away from Aynslee would be harder.

  “You’ll have to come for the birth of the boys, though, and also for future children—at least two more. Don’t tell Elli I said that,” Shea laughed.

  Jordan laughed along with him before saying, “I’ll be there.”

  Shea’s words reassured Jordan that they would still be friends after he left. But his relationship with Aynslee was up in the air, and that alone made his chest ache.

  When Aynslee woke up the next morning, she was wrapped in Jordan’s strong arms. She must have been sleeping pretty soundly to not wake up when he climbed into bed last night. She bit her lip as she ran her fingers along his jaw. He had been gone four days, and she’d missed him.

  They had been inseparable since their dinner, and Aynslee couldn’t have been happier. He was an amazing lover and a great listener. She enjoyed every minute with him, and even though they had not discussed their future, she knew they had something special.

  Snuggling closer, Aynslee ran her hands down his back and kissed his neck to wake him. She had to get up and start getting ready for school, but staying in bed with Jordan sounded like a better idea. His hands gripped her sides and pulled her on top of him. She smiled down as he looked up at her with his eyes half open.

  “ ’Morning,” she said, before he brought her close for a long, sexy kiss that had her head spinning. She might have been on top, but Jordan was in complete control, and she didn’t mind one bit.

  Moving his hands up her thighs, he squeezed her ass. “Do you have time?” he asked, lust swirling in his eyes.

  She’d barely started to nod when he ripped her panties off and threw them across the room. She reached over to the bed table, grabbing a condom as he pulled his shorts down. Sitting on his thighs, she took his hard cock in her hands before bending her head forward and taking him to the back of her throat, then out, and repeating the motion. She loved the taste and feel of him in her mouth. As his fingers moved into her hair, she pulled back, kissing the tip of his cock before sheathing him with the latex.

  Moving over him, she directed his bulging erection inside her. She sank down onto him, both of them moaning from the pleasure. She began to move up and down his swollen cock, finding the perfect rhythm. His hands stayed on her ass, squeezing and smacking as she continued to ride him to oblivion. Her orgasm came first, her body seizing from the intensity of it. Bringing her down, Jordan kissed her long and hard before rolling them over so that he was on top. He pulled out and, gripping her thighs, began to kiss her between her legs. Her fingers clung to the mattress as he flicked his tongue against her swollen clit, then sucked it whole between his lips. When he dipped his tongue into the entrance of her pussy and then slowly licked up the length of her, bringing her clit between his teeth, she shattered again.

  In one smooth move, Jordan sat up and moved her legs apart, bringing one over his shoulder before he entered her deeply. His fingers bit into her thighs as he wildly thrust inside her. Aynslee could feel another orgasm building and was convinced that she had never felt so satisfied in her life.

  With one last thrust, he let out a ragged moan and fell on top of her. She ran her hands up his sweat-sheened back and into his hair before she kissed his shoulder. She could definitely get used to starting every morning with hot and wild sex.

  After taking a quick shower and fixing her hair in record time, Aynslee rushed to the kitchen, where Jordan was pouring coffee. Kissing his cheek, she accepted the mug he offered. She took a quick sip, then set the cup on the counter and collected her students’ papers from the night before.

  “Can I come have lunch with you today?”

  She looked up from where she was stuffing her bag and smiled. “Sure, I’d love that.” Closing the distance between them, she wrapped her arms around his waist. “I wish I could stay home with you, but we are learning long division this week. My kiddos need me.”

  Jordan kissed her nose. “We both know that you would never miss a day with the kids unless you really had to.”

  With a grin, she admitted, “That’s true, but I did miss you.”

  He put his mug down before gathering her in his arms and kissing her senseless. When he pulled away, he kissed her once more before smiling against her lips. She loved when he did that—it was so romantic and so sweet.

  “I missed you too,” he said, sending the butterflies in her stomach into a frenzy. “Now, off you go. I’ll see you at lunch.”

  Aynslee was having a great day. But, really, after amazing morning sex, teaching young minds, and now having lunch with Jordan, who wouldn’t? They were sitting on her classroom’s ABC carpet, and he handed her a sub from Jimmy John’s before opening his own. He looked delicious, and Aynslee would much rather have eaten him than the sub. Wearing a pair of fitted jeans, a black Assassins’ T-shirt, and a black ball cap, he made Aynslee’s heart skip a beat. He was incredible.

  “Did you watch the game last night?”

  Aynslee nodded. “Yup. Great interview, by the way.”

  “I wish you could see me play, though.”

  “I have seen you play, on YouTube, and you were hot then too,” she informed him with a wink.

  “I mean in person.”

  “I will,” she said confidently as he looked over at her. “And I will be the loudest girl in the arena, don’t you worry about that.”

  He flashed her a grin, taking her hand in his and kissing her knuckles. “I look forward to it.”

  Aynslee was just about to reply when the door to her classroom opened.

  “Hey,” Aynslee said when she saw her friend Sadie walk in.

  “Hey. Oh, my God, I can’t hold anything down. I’m puking my brains out!” Sadie complained as she walked toward Aynslee’s desk, but she stopped abruptly when she saw Jordan. Her cheeks instantly turned red. “Could have told me you had a guest, Ayns.”

  Aynslee laughed. “Jordan, this is my friend Sadie. Sadie, this is my … boyfriend, Jordan,” she said very slowly as she looked over at him, meeting his playful gaze. He didn’t seem affected by her putting labels on him, but Aynslee wasn’t
sure what to think. “She is pregnant with her first child; hence the reason she is puking her brains out.”

  Jordan grinned. “Congratulations, and it’s nice to meet you.”

  “Thank you; it’s a pleasure to meet you too. Ayns, this is the work sheet you’ll need for first hour tomorrow. I’ll just put it on your desk.” Turning to Jordan, Sadie added, “Wish I could stay and get to know you, but I gotta go; my kids are coming back in a few. See y’all later.”

  “Bye,” they said, and Aynslee added a quick thanks as Sadie hurried out, shutting the door behind her.

  “She seems nice,” Jordan said as Aynslee looked over at him. He was watching her, chewing on the bite he had just taken.

  “She’s great,” she said tentatively. “Sorry for throwing the whole boyfriend thing out there.”

  A puzzled look came over his face as he asked, “Why are you sorry?”

  She shrugged her shoulders. “Well, we haven’t discussed it.”

  “Aynslee, you’ve been my girlfriend since I slept with you.”

  Aynslee could only blink as he held her gaze. “Wow—okay. You could have told me that.”

  “I might be a little old school, but I thought you felt the same way.”

  Aynslee scooted closer to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. “I do, but it would have been nice for you to say it. So you’re mine? All mine?” Aynslee teased as she kissed the side of his smiling mouth.

  “Yup. I know it’s only been three weeks, but I’m crazy about you. And I do think you are pretty amazing.”

  Aynslee nuzzled her nose along the hair of his jaw and smiled before whispering, “I like you.”

  “Good,” he said, dusting her lips with kisses. “Because I like you too.”

  As Jordan began to kiss her in a way that wasn’t appropriate for school, all Aynslee could think about was how great things were going and that she wasn’t ready to let that go. She had no clue what would happen when the season was over, and that scared her, because her heart belonged to Jordan Ryan.

  Chapter 8

  “Surprise,” Jordan said with a grin.

  Looking up at the sign he held, Aynslee laughed. She could tell that he had no clue if this was okay. Little did he know it was perfect.

  “Annual Mud Run,” she read aloud.

  “What do you think?”

  She wrapped her arms around his middle. “You know the way to my heart.”

  “I was hoping you’d say that,” Jordan said, kissing the tip of her nose.

  “I’ve always wanted to do this.”

  “Really?”

  “I mean, what girl doesn’t want to run through mud with her hunky boyfriend?”

  Jordan laughed before saying, “I could name a few.”

  “Ah,” she said, waving him off, “divas, I tell you.”

  Now it was the morning of the race, and runners were beginning to approach the starting line. Aynslee saw someone taking pictures and quickly pulled Jordan to her before asking the guy to take one of them. After the photographer shot their photo and told them where it would be posted online, Jordan took Aynslee’s hand and led her to the starting line. She had always loved doing stuff like this, and for Jordan to know that in the short time they’d been together had her heart doing flips. Looking up into his gorgeous face, she smiled as love warmed her heart. It had been only a little over a month, but she was a firm believer in When you know, you know.

  And with Jordan, she knew.

  Once in place, Aynslee faced Jordan with her game face on. “I bet I can beat you.”

  Jordan laughed again, shaking his head before leaning over for a quick kiss. Only a breath away, he said, “In your dreams.”

  Then the horn sounded and they were off.

  For once, Aynslee was very appreciative of her size. Being small helped her get through the pits and puddles faster than Jordan could, though she quickly learned he liked to play dirty. She loved it. Some girls would have been pissed, but Aynslee had grown up with competitive brothers, and all it did was fuel her fire. She ran full speed ahead, jumping over a puddle that he managed to get stuck in, which put her in the lead. Drenched in mud, she crossed the finish line with a big grin on her face and her arms in the air.

  It was a complete blast, and when she turned to see Jordan trudging over the finish line, his eyes glaring and his body covered in mud, she couldn’t hold in her laughter. He walked over to her as she continued to laugh.

  “I don’t know what you are laughing at! You look just like me!” he pointed out as he crossed his arms.

  “Oh, no, I’m laughing because you are a very sore loser and a cheater!” She smirked as she picked up one of the hot rags that had been provided for the runners to clean up with after the race. She loved the run, but mud in the nose wasn’t working for her. When she glanced up at him, he was still glaring; then, with ninja-like moves, he grabbed her and rubbed his muddy hands all over her face. She tried to get away, but he tackled her to the ground. Their laughter mingled as he lay on top of her. With his mud-splattered body rubbing over hers, Aynslee suddenly felt aroused. If they weren’t in the middle of a park, she would’ve shown him how dirty she could be. Jordan must have felt the same way, because his eyes grew darker as he said, “Right now I feel like I’ve won. Want to go back home so I can claim my prize?”

  Aynslee closed her eyes as the laughter took over once again.

  God, she loved this man.

  Leaning back in the massage chair, Aynslee smiled as Brittany, her nail tech, scrubbed her feet and told her about her daughter’s dance recital.

  “She can’t dance a lick. She gets that from Steven’s side of the family, I tell you,” Brittany said with a shake of her head. “Bless her heart, she goes to kick and falls on her ass! I’m laughing so hard, I’m screaming, ‘It’s okay, baby! Mommy loves you!’ ”

  Aynslee and Sadie both cracked up.

  “See, you can blame it on Steven, but if my baby is a girl and wants to dance, I’m screwed. I have two left feet!” Sadie joked. “Can Jordan dance?”

  Aynslee nodded her head. “I think so. I’ll definitely find out tonight.”

  They were going to a charity benefit that Jordan’s teammate, Jakob Titov, was hosting to help abused kids. Aynslee was all about helping kids and was excited when Jordan had asked her to come.

  “Jordan? Who’s that?” Brittany asked. “I didn’t know you were dating someone.”

  “Remember the guy who ran out on me? After I got my nails done last month, I went for a run and bumped into him, and let’s just say we haven’t spent much time apart since then.”

  Brittany’s face broke into a knowing grin as she slapped Aynslee’s leg. “So he’s the hockey player, right?”

  “Yup, a goalie for the Assassins, and oh, my God, I adore him. Actually, I’m pretty sure I love him.”

  Sadie whipped her head around to stare at Aynslee, and Brittany’s mouth dropped open.

  “Say what?” Sadie asked.

  “Really,” Aynslee stressed. “He is so perfect. He loves video games like me, took me on a mud run, loves to watch the same movies as me, and, get this, he lets me rap to him.”

  “No way!” Sadie laughed, since she knew that Dan had hated when Aynslee rapped at all. He’d said it wasn’t ladylike, but Aynslee didn’t care.

  “Rapping is a must in a relationship,” Brittany said in a teasing way.

  Aynslee giggled. “Right? Jordan is everything I’ve ever wanted.”

  She hadn’t been this happy in a long time. Even her mom could feel that there was something different when they’d spoken on the phone last night. When she heard about Jordan, her mom wanted to meet him, but since their future was still up in the air, Aynslee told her mother to wait a little and then she’d bring him home. She only hoped she would be able to.

  “Are you talking about Jordan Ryan?”

  All three women looked over to see a woman staring at them. The first thing Aynslee noticed was that she was extrem
ely beautiful. Big blue eyes, framed with thick black lashes. Her blond hair was styled in wide curls draped around her shoulders, and she wore designer clothes. Aynslee couldn’t see her shoes, but she was sure they were expensive.

  Aynslee nodded as she said, “I am.”

  “Are you dating him?”

  Aynslee narrowed her eyes as she nodded again. “Yes.”

  The woman’s eyes traveled up and down, taking Aynslee’s measure, then she raised an eyebrow. Clearing her throat, she hung her hand over the chair, showing off one hell of a rock on her left hand. “That’s so nice. I’m Leanna Masterson, his ex-fiancée.”

  Aynslee wasn’t sure if the woman was holding out her hand to shake, so she simply said, “Aynslee Shaw.”

  “So how is Jordan? His knee doing better?”

  A part of Aynslee didn’t want to tell her anything, wanted to turn her nose up and return to her conversation with her friends. From what Jordan had told her, Leanna had left him in such a shitty way. How could someone walk out on the person she was supposedly in love with? Especially when he desperately needed her? This woman had ruined Jordan’s self-image, and if Aynslee hadn’t been so persistent with him, he would probably still be the socially awkward guy she had met on the plane.

  Jordan was different now, more outgoing and confident. They had gone to dinner with Sadie and Phil one night, and they’d all gotten along so well. Phil and Jordan had even made a man date to play golf! He was branching out, and she knew it was because of her. He was happier, and all he had to do was get his career issues fixed and life would be great. As long as he didn’t leave.

  “He’s doing great. We are really happy.”

  Leanna gave her a snide smile. “That’s so nice, I’m glad. I think of him from time to time. I’m getting married to my amazing Justin—you probably know him, Justin Yates, with Yates and Yates? No? Well, he is wonderful, and we’re expecting our first child this August,” she said, with a wave of her hand. “We are really happy too.”