Rise Up (A Coach's Love Book 3)

by Alison Mello

  “What are you doing?” she whispers, trying to stay quiet.

  “Giving you a Christmas treat.” I continue feasting on her warm sex.

  “But Ethan.”

  “Relax. I locked the door when I got up to use the bathroom.” Slipping my tongue inside her, I massage her nub with the pad of my thumb. Her hips are grinding, and she’s panting as she fights to keep her voice down. I love that she’s vocal, but I also love that she cares about Ethan.

  She grabs my head, holding it in place as she lets go. Her legs stiffen as her body falls to pieces. I lap up every last drop, making sure I hit her sensitive nub as I do. “Vincent, stop. I can’t,” she moans in a whisper.

  “I need one more, baby.” Pressing her legs to her chest, I line up my cock. “I need to feel you milk me.” I thrust my hips forward, seating myself deep inside of her.

  “Yes,” she moans, her eyes rolling back when I hit that magical spot. I continue thrusting my hips. She tries to move with me, but she’s pinned to the bed. I pick up the pace. I need to push her over the edge before we get interrupted. Her muscles tighten, squeezing me, taking me with her. I bury myself one last time, emptying all I have inside her.

  I let go of her legs and collapse on top of her. She looks me in the eye and says, “Merry Christmas to you too.”

  I smile. “I love you.” I press my lips to hers.

  “I love you too.” She lifts her head to kiss me. Our tongues connect, and my hands pull at her hair. My cock starts to stir, ready for round two, but there’s a knock at the door.

  “Dad, let’s go! It’s Christmas!”

  We both laugh. “We’ll be out in a minute,” I call through the door.

  “Woohoo!” he shouts as he runs off.

  We quickly clean up and head out to the living room. “I need coffee, and then we can sit.” I go to the kitchen to make us each a cup of coffee. Ethan is sitting patiently by the tree. This is a kid who acts so mature for his age until Christmas rolls around. Then his true age comes out, and he’s a kid again.

  “Excited?” I ask him.

  “Yeah.” He fidgets with a huge grin on his face.

  Amber sips her coffee and then takes a seat on the floor with Ethan and me. I hand Ethan his first gift, and he rips through it. He thanks me when he finds new clothes in the box. The next three gifts I make sure are all clothes. Laney used to go ridiculously overboard on our son for Christmas, while I was the one telling him Christmas is not about the gifts. This year I made a little look like a lot by wrapping his clothes up in a lot of boxes.

  I hand him the next box. He opens it to find two smaller wrapped gifts inside. “Yes! You got me two new games. Thanks, Dad!”

  “You have one more gift, but it’s kind of a family gift.” I hand him his last box. It’s big. He opens it to a smaller box inside also wrapped. He unwraps that to discover yet another box. “You’re really making this hard, Dad.”

  “Keep going.” He unwraps the last box and pulls the cover to find tissue paper inside. He slowly unfolds the tissue paper.

  His eyes are practically popping out of his head. “Are you for real? We’re going to see the Celtics play the Wizards?”

  I laugh. “We are. All three of us. We’ll spend the weekend in Washington DC.”

  He climbs onto my lap and hugs me. “Best Christmas ever! Thanks, Dad.”

  I pat my son on the back. “You’re welcome, son.”

  “Are you guys going to open your gifts?” he asks us.

  “Well, first you have something from me to open.” Amber hands him a box. “Merry Christmas, Ethan.”

  “Thank you, Amber.” He rips the paper apart. “How did you know I wanted these Adidas sneakers for basketball?”

  “I heard you talking to Mason about them. I went out the first chance I got and grabbed a pair.”

  “Thanks, Amber.” He hugs her briefly.

  “Okay, it’s your turn.” I hand Amber her Christmas gift.

  Her eyes light up. She pulls a gold chain with the basketball pendent from the box. “It’s gorgeous. Would you put it on me?”

  I fasten it around her neck and kiss her gently. “Merry Christmas, beautiful.”

  She claps. “My turn. I got you two small things.” She hands me the first one. I inspect the box and shake it. “Stop, open it.” The anticipation is written all over her face.

  I laugh. “Okay, okay.” I rip it open. “I don’t know what to say.” I pull the whistle from the case. Engraved on the top is World’s greatest dad and coach! “Thank you. I love it.”

  “You’re welcome. Now open the next one.” She’s grinning ear to ear, thrilled that I love her gift.

  The next one is a cooking lesson for couples. It’s a three-week class for beginners. “You do realize you could probably teach this class?”

  She shrugs. “I know, but I thought it would be fun for us to go together.”

  “I love it. When do we start?”

  “We have to pick our session. I figured we’d wait until basketball was done so things weren’t so crazy.”

  “Dad, can I go download my games?”

  “Go, we’ll call you when breakfast is ready.” He runs toward his room.

  “I ate cereal while you guys were sleeping,” he calls back.

  I nod. “Okay.”

  We’re about to have a house full of people I have never met, and I’m internally stressing the hell out. Vincent’s parents are due here any moment, and not only am I meeting them for the first time, but I’m preparing a meal for them. I have prayed on this, and I continue to pray that this meal comes out perfect for them.

  Vincent slips his hands around my waist, causing me to jump. “Relax, baby. They are going to love you just as much as I do.”

  I look over my shoulder at him. “You think so?”

  “I know so. You make us happy, therefore you will make them happy.” He kisses me just below the ear.

  I let out a deep breath. “I hope you’re right.” I bump him with my butt because he’s blocking me from getting the sweet potatoes in the oven.

  “Would you like me to move?”

  “Yes, I need to get these going so we can eat on time.”

  He tugs at my chin, kisses me, and then steps away. I put the casserole dish in the oven, and just as I’m closing it the doorbell rings. I let out one more deep breath and join Vincent at the door.

  “Hi, Mom.” Vincent hugs his mom and then shakes hands with his dad. Vincent and his father look a lot alike.

  “And this must be Amber.” His mom steps around him and wraps me in a hug.

  “Nice to meet you, Mrs. Wilder.”

  His mom gently places her hands on either side of my cheeks and says, “You, dear girl, can call me Andi.”

  “It’s nice to meet you, Andi.” We hug one more time, and then his father interrupts.

  “Do I get to meet her too?” He holds his hand out. “How are you, Amber? I’m Axel.”

  “It’s a pleasure.”

  Ethan comes running into the room. “Grammy!” He hugs his grandmother tight. You can tell she adores him. She holds him tight and kisses him on the head.

  “Hi, Papa.” He shakes his grandfather’s hand.

  “Let me take your coats for you,” I offer. Andi removes her coat, placing it in my outstretched arms.

  “Thank you, dear.”

  “Here, put this by the tree.” Axel hands a large Santa-like bag to Ethan and then gives me his coat.

  We all take a seat in the living room. “So, Ethan, what did you get for Christmas?” his grandfather asks him. Ethan goes through the list of things he opened this morning.

  “Papa, the best gift of all.” He pauses. “Dad is taking Amber and me to see my first Celtics game.”

  “That’s awesome, buddy. Do you want to see what we got you?”

  “Sure.” Vincent hands his father the big Santa bag. Axel pulls out a gift. We quickly learn it’s a new basketball.

  “Awesome, it’s the basketbal
l I asked for!” Ethan dribbles the ball until his father reprimands him.

  “Sorry. I’m so excited, and it’s too cold to go out.”

  “Well, you’re not done yet,” his grandfather tells him. He opens another outfit and a gift card he wanted for his gaming system.

  Ethan thanks his grandparents and runs off to finish the game he started. Axel then hands Vincent a gift. “You guys didn’t have to get me anything,” he tells him as he opens a book that reads Cooking for Beginners.

  I burst into laughter. “Hilarious.” He throws the wrapping paper at me. “Clearly telling my mother about my mishap in the kitchen with you was a bad idea.”

  “It was a great idea. Now you have cooking lessons and a cookbook.”

  Andi says, “Wait, you got him cooking lessons for Christmas?”

  “I did.”

  “That’s perfect.” She laughs.

  “Are you all enjoying this laugh at my expense.” Vincent tries to be mad, but he can’t hide his own laughter. It’s pretty funny.

  “Here, Amber, a little something from us.”

  “Aww, you shouldn’t have.” I take the gift. I open it to reveal a really pretty sweater dress. “This is gorgeous. Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome. I hope it fits.”

  “Actually, it looks like it’ll fit perfect.” I hold it up to my body. “Thank you very much.” I hug them each and take the dress to Vincent’s room while he gives them the gift card he got them.

  We get his parents settled with some shrimp cocktail and drinks to hold them over until dinner is ready. The doorbell rings. Vincent answers it to find a man standing on the porch. I assume this is Judge Mackey, Laney’s father. Vincent invited him to dinner so he wouldn’t be alone.

  He brings him in and quickly introduces me. He is a sweet man, but Andi and Axel don’t seem to share Vincent’s love for this man.

  “Andi, Axel. It’s good to see you again.”

  They’re both curt with him. I’m not sure if it’s the strain Laney has put on Ethan or if it’s simply the fact Laney is his daughter. Judge Mackey takes a seat, joining them in the living room while we get him a drink.

  Vincent calls out to Ethan and tells him his grandfather is here. He greets him briefly but goes back to playing shortly after visiting with him. Like any other kid, he opened his gift, said thank you, and now wants to play.

  When we get back to the living room, there’s tension in the air. “Have you heard from Laney?” Vincent asks him.

  “Not since she showed up at my office. She wanted me yet again to pull strings to arrange for visitation. I told her the same thing I always do…” He shakes his head. “She will not use my name for her gain.”

  Vincent’s brows furrow. “I can’t believe she’s still trying that. You would think she would visit with you to visit with you, not to use you.”

  He laughs. “She tried to make it seem that way at first. Then I told her she was up to no good, and she started screaming at me. She was yelling through the phone up until she walked through my office door.” He puts his drink down. “She’s pretty mad at you. Do you know where she’s staying?”

  “I don’t. She wanted me to let Ethan go to New York for Christmas. When I refused she showed up here. She’s picking him up after dinner to spend a few hours with him,” he fills him in.

  “She wants visitation,” I add.

  “I told her to stay out of my office unless her lawyer makes an appointment with mine.”

  “What in God’s creation has gotten into that daughter of mine?” He shakes his head furiously.

  Vincent shrugs. “I don’t know, but you can ask her when she gets here.”

  The oven beeps. “Excuse me. I have to tend to our meal.” I hurry into the kitchen to check on dinner. Everything is just about done. I pull the potatoes out to mash them and put the homemade biscuits in.

  I put platters of food on the dining room table and let everyone know that dinner is ready. We’re not even halfway through eating when the doorbell rings. Vincent looks at his watch. “She’s early.”

  “Let me take care of this.” Judge Mackey gets up from the table.

  I hear her nasty voice ring out through the house. “What are you doing here?” Laney sasses her father disrespectfully.

  “Enjoying dinner with my grandson. Seeing my own daughter didn’t care to spend the day with me.”

  Everyone’s eyes go wide at the conversation taking place in the other room. They’re so loud we can hear them clearly.

  “Excuse me.” Vincent leaves the table.

  “That woman has no manners.” Andi rolls her eyes.

  Ethan blushes. No doubt embarrassed by his mother’s behavior. I get up and kneel next to him. “Ethan, look at me.” When his eyes meet mine, I say, “Don’t forget what we told you. A text and we will come to get you.”

  “It’s not even time for her to be here yet.” He’s pouts, sad his mother has interrupted his meal with his grandparents.

  “Some people don’t care about boundaries. That doesn’t change the fact that we’re here for you. Okay?”

  “Thanks, Amber.”

  “You’re welcome. Now, I can either tell her you’re not ready yet, or you can finish up and go.”

  “I’ll finish up. I want to get this over with.” He finishes while I head to the living room.

  Vincent is yelling at his ex in a hushed tone. “It’s fine. I just spoke to Ethan. He is going to finish up, and then he’ll be ready.”

  “What is she doing speaking to my son?” She points at me.

  “I’m doing something you should consider doing.” I step up next to Vincent. “Care about your son’s feelings. He’s in the middle of Christmas dinner with his grandparents, and you barge in demanding to take him.”

  “You know damn well you weren’t supposed to be here for another hour,” Vincent once again growls at her, not giving her the opportunity to speak.

  “Yeah well, kids can’t always get what they want.”

  “Says the woman who A, demands to get her way all the time. And B, gave him anything and everything he demanded,” Vincent throws back at her.

  “You remember that when we’re in court and Vincent has a signed affidavit by me stating he shouldn’t live with you,” Judge Mackey declares.

  Her jaw drops. “You wouldn’t do that.” She glares at her father.

  “I will.” He steps closer. “I don’t know what happened to my sweet little girl, but you’ve turned into a monster. It’s time you pull your life together.”

  “I’m ready,” Ethan announces from behind us.

  “Ethan.” She instantly changes her demeanor, but it’s totally fake. She runs over to him and wraps him in a hug like a devoted parent. “I’ve missed you so much.”

  “Where are you taking him?” Vincent questions.

  “I’m staying at Tiff’s just outside of town. I’ll have him home by nine.” She pulls her son’s hand toward the door.

  “Ethan, if you need me, you call or text.” He nods at his father and walks out the door with his mother.

  “He doesn’t look happy,” Axel says from behind us.

  “He’s not, but there’s only so much I can do. She’s his mother.” Vincent lets out a sigh as he stares at a closed door. Concern etched all over his handsome face.

  The five of us go back to our meal, but it’s evident that Vincent can’t stop worrying. He’s not eating much of anything. As a matter of fact, no one is talking after the awkward encounter.

  “Dinner was delicious, Amber,” Andi finally says, breaking the silence.

  “Thank you. If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to clean up.” I collect my plate and head to the kitchen.

  Andi follows behind me. “I can see how much you care for my boys.” I nod, continuing to do dishes. “It’s nice to see. They need someone like you in their life, but you need to know this won’t be easy.” Again, I nod. “Do you have what it takes to stick this out?” she asks.

 
; I stop what I’m doing and turn to her. “Excuse me?”

  “I adore you already, Amber, so does Vincent. But I don’t think he or Ethan can take another woman walking out on them. I need to know that you’re in this for the long haul.”

  I grab a towel and dry my hands. “Listen, I respect your concern for both Vincent and Ethan, but I’m not going to sit here and promise you that our relationship will last for years to come. We’ve only just admitted to loving one another. I have no intentions of walking away because of Laney, but I can’t predict the future. Any number of things could happen.”

  She nods and walks out of the room. Like today wasn’t stressful enough, now his mother is adding to it. What a way to spend Christmas.

  It’s almost nine o’clock and the wait for Ethan to get home has been absolute torture. He sent me one text earlier to give me the address to where he was. The funny thing about that is I didn’t ask him to. He did it on his own. I guess he was worried about me not knowing how to find him. I, however, am smarter than that. I have the locator on his phone turned on, and I know exactly where he is and how long it would take me to get to him.

  “Sit with me,” Amber begs. “It’s been a long day.” I take a seat on the couch next to her. She snuggles into my side.

  “I’m sorry, beautiful.” I kiss her on the head.

  “You don’t need to be sorry. I get it. This is difficult. I’m just trying to get you to relax a little.”

  “I can’t believe she came here like she did. She was making all sorts of demands.” I pull my phone out and look at it one more time. They should have left by now. I don’t have a good feeling in my gut, and my gut doesn’t typically lead me wrong.

  I’m about to put my phone down when it pings.

  Ethan: Dad, I need you to come get me. Mom is drunk.

  Dad: On our way.

  “We gotta go.” I quickly stand and hurry to the closet, handing Amber her jacket.