by Nikki Ash
She sighs softly. “I guess I just feel lost right now.”
“Why?”
“I’m going to college because you want me to, but all I want to do is train and fight.”
I know she hates that we’ve given her an ultimatum. Go to college or she needs to get a job to support herself. She’s not eighteen yet, so she can’t fight in the UFC and even then, it’ll be years before she’s making any kind of money. She’s got to start fighting and winning first.
“We just want more for you, Bella. I didn’t go to college. Yeah, I inherited my dad’s gyms and did well in the UFC, but that’s not always the norm. And your mom, she was pregnant at eighteen and struggled in college, juggling her school work and having a baby, but still graduated.”
“Do you think she regrets having me?”
“No way. That’s not what I meant. You’re the best thing that ever happened to us, aside from your siblings. I just meant that we want things to be easier for you. We’ve worked hard so we can give you whatever it is you want.”
“But I don’t want college. I don’t think it’s for me, but you’re giving me no choice.”
“Are you going away to California because you’re mad at me?”
“No.” She shakes her head.
“Why don’t you stay here and go to a state college and train with me?”
“I- I just need to be on my own. I need some space.”
“What if we get you a place here?”
“Dad, I love you, but I need some breathing room. I need to be able to grow and learn and make mistakes away from here.”
“What kind of mistakes, Bella?” She bows her head, and I know she isn’t going to tell me. Hell, maybe she doesn’t even know what mistakes, yet. All I can do at this point is be there for her even when she doesn’t know she needs me.
“Hey,” I say. “Your mom and I are here for you. No matter what. Whatever mistakes you think you need to make, fine. But we’re here. All we want for you is to pave a path for your future. Fighting can come first, but you need a backup plan. You need a college degree.”
“I know, Dad. And I’m doing it your way.” I want to tell her she doesn’t have to go to college. I want to tell her whatever it is she wants to hear that will bring my little girl back to me, but the hardest part of being a parent is doing the things you feel are best for your children even if it hurts you to do so. And I really feel it’s best for Bella to go to college while training. All it takes is one injury and she’ll need to find another career. It happens to athletes every damn day. Hopefully one day she’ll understand where we’re coming from.
“I love you, Bella.”
“I love you too, Dad.”
“Want to do some snowboarding? There’s still a couple hours of light left.”
“That sounds like fun. Let’s do it.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
We spend the next couple hours snowboarding. Bella might look like her mom and love books like her, but athletically, she is most definitely my kid. Fighting, skiing, snowboarding, it doesn’t matter what it is, she picks it up quickly and excels at it.
We get back to the house a few hours later and I notice our rental car is gone. We walk inside and Caleb and Hayley are cuddled up on the couch together.
“Where are the kids?”
“Playing in the snow in the backyard.”
“Liz?” Hayley and Caleb exchange a glance.
“She mentioned something about needing to drive out…”
“How long ago?”
Caleb looks at his watch. “Damn, must have been a couple hours ago.”
I text her to make sure she hasn’t gotten lost.
Me: You okay?
I don’t get a response right away and that starts to worry me. The snow has been coming down the last couple hours. What if she got stuck somewhere?
After a few minutes, I send the text again and get no response. Then I notice the message turns green, which means Liz’s phone is either off or she has no service.
“Have you spoken to her since she left?”
“No, but I did text her asking to pick up watermelon for Ryan and she never responded.”
“Caleb, would you mind me borrowing your car? I’m worried about Liz.”
“Of course, but I’m sure she’s fine.” He pulls the keys from his pocket and throws them my way.
Hayley’s phone chimes and she stands up, walking out of the room while frowning down at her phone.
“Hey, Hayley, is that Liz?” I yell after her.
“No, sorry,” she calls back.
“Everything okay with her?” I nod toward where Hayley just was.
Caleb shakes his head. “I don’t know, man. I’m trying really hard not to assume anything but something is up.” He stares at the ceiling for a second then says, “Look, I shouldn’t tell you this, but I know you’re worried about Liz and her being gone. She went into town to buy you a gift.”
“What?”
“She forgot to buy you a gift, too.” He smirks. “I’m sure she’s fine. She’s just in town shopping.”
“I’m going to drive around just in case. It’s not like her to have her phone off.”
Bella
After my dad and I return to the cabin from snowboarding, I head out back to join the kids playing in the snow. While, I’m excited to be heading to California to school, I’ll miss my siblings and parents like crazy. When I get out there, the kids are running back inside saying they’re hungry, and I see Marco walking in the opposite direction. He must be going back to the guesthouse he’s staying in behind Bentley’s parents’ place. Instead of making myself known, I walk back inside to join my family.
Seeing Marco is hard, which sucks because there was a time when seeing Marco made my day. Then… stuff happened. Emotions were involved, feelings were hurt, and instead of dealing with it, Marco chose not to. What I want is to knock on his door and make him deal… and maybe I’ll do just that. But not now. Because I’m a damn chicken.
Liz
I don’t know how many times we’ve visited Colorado over the years and every single time, Cooper has said the same thing when I’m driving.
Liz, no matter what, you do not ever swerve for an animal in the road.
And every time he would say it, I would roll my eyes. I mean, c’mon, what idiot would swerve on the snowy, slippery road and risk their own life just to make sure the animal running across the road doesn’t get hit.
I can hear his voice in my head, like he’s saying it right now.
Liz, no matter what, you do not ever swerve for an animal in the road.
And his words totally make sense… until you’re driving along the snowy, slippery road and a cute deer with her cute babies come running across the street. I swear I heard his words…
Liz, no matter what, you do not ever swerve for an animal in the road.
But then I imagined the poor innocent mama deer and her poor innocent babies getting hit by my big SUV and them dying and it being all my fault, so I ignored Cooper’s words… and swerved, which is why right now I’m sitting on the side of the road, in the snow bank, with my front two wheels stuck in a ditch.
I try to put the SUV in reverse, and for a second, I think my vehicle is going to back up over the side of the ditch… until the bottom of my car hits the ground and bottoms out. I can hear the tires spinning, getting deeper, and know I’m stuck.
Wanting to keep in the warmth as long as possible, I stay in the car and grab my phone from my purse to call Cooper. It’s going to suck to have to tell him what happened, but I don’t really have a choice. Pressing the circle on the bottom of my iPhone to open it up, a bright red battery sign mocks me on the screen. Damn it! The phone is dead. No wonder I was shopping for so long without being bothered. Whoops!
And I would like to say after all this, I bought my husband the perfect present that is going to make this entire shitty situation worth it, but sadly I didn’t. You would think
the longer you know someone, the easier it would be to buy them a gift… Wrong! I swear there wasn’t a single thing in that entire shopping plaza to buy him.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not stupid. I bought him a gift. With Christmas only a few days away, I had to get something! So, I got him a wallet. I bought the man a wallet! Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with a wallet as a gift, but it’s so impersonal. It’s so not us. I have a strong feeling this year will be the year Cooper outdoes me in the gift department.
After sitting here for a few minutes, I check around to see if maybe there’s a car charger. Of course there isn’t, so I decide to get out of the vehicle and go in search of a phone. Opening the car door, I put one foot out and step right into a huge pile of snow. Eww! Snow! Hence the snow bank… My poor Uggs might be really cute and sold during winter, but they are not meant to be worn while plowing through real snow. Ugh!
I get completely out of the vehicle, ankle deep in the wet, sloshy, snow, and look around. I wasn’t even paying attention to where I am. The built-in GPS tells me where to go and I follow it. I look to the left and there’s road. I look to the right and guess what’s there? Road! No houses, no stores, nothing! Just road. Great!
I turn the vehicle back on and press the home button, which is the address of the cabin we’re staying in.
“To proceed to the route, please make a U-turn when possible.”
What the heck! The GPS must have messed up from the lack of service. When I click to zoom in on the road, it shows I’m on a back road called Boreas Pass and I’m eleven miles from the resort. Well, there’s no point in just sitting here. Maybe somebody will drive by and stop so I can use their cell phone.
I lock the SUV and start walking in the direction the GPS told me to head in. Even with a snow jacket and gloves on, I am freezing. It’s not snowing and the sun is shining, but holy shit the air is a frigid bitch.
A few minutes later, I see a car driving up. I wave my hands in the air hoping they’ll stop but no such luck. They just keep on driving. Real nice! Just remember karma is a bitch, people!
I’m not sure how long I’ve been walking, but I’m starting to get worried. Eleven miles shouldn’t be too bad, right? Cooper and Bella run close to that daily. But at the same time, it’s cold and snowing and I am not dressed for this frigid hike.
I see another car approaching, and just like the one other time, I wave my arms in the air hoping this person will take mercy on me and stop, and to my luck the vehicle does stop! Please don’t let it be a serial killer!
And thank God, it’s not, it’s my husband! Only when he gets out of the vehicle, the look on his face almost makes me wish it were a serial killer who stopped.
“I saw our rental car back there! Why the fuck are you walking in the wrong direction from our cabin?”
Whoops!
Cooper
I’m driving toward the shopping plaza when the GPS tells me to make a slight turn onto Boreas Pass. When I look at the dashboard, it shows there’s an accident on the main road so the GPS is having me take an alternate route. My heart picks up and I pray Liz isn’t anywhere near the accident. I’m driving not even two minutes when I come across our rental vehicle on the side of the road stuck in a snow bank.
Jumping out of the car, I run to the driver side door only to find the vehicle empty. I look around me and yell, “Liz!” but she doesn’t answer me. I glance back toward where I came from and wonder if I somehow missed her. I jump back into the SUV and start driving back, my mind starting to race with horrible thoughts. What if she’s injured? What if someone hit her while she was walking? What if someone took her and killed her?
My horrid thoughts keep progressing and I have to turn my mind off. She’s fine. I just need to find her. I drive back to the main road but don’t see her. It doesn’t make any sense. I turn the vehicle back around and drive past our vehicle. About two miles down, I see a tiny woman walking along the snowbank. I slow down and her arms start waving frantically. Why the hell is Liz walking in the wrong direction?
I pull over, confused and angry, and get out of the SUV, slamming the door behind me.
“I saw our rental car back there! Why the fuck are you walking in the wrong direction from our cabin?”
Liz looks to the left then to the right and then glances back at me confused. I just shake my head. My fucking wife has no sense of direction whatsoever.
Thankful she’s alive and uninjured, I wrap her up in my arms and kiss her hard.
“I was so worried, babe.”
“I’m sorry. I swerved for a deer and her babies and ended up in a snow bank. My phone is dead and the GPS got messed up.”
I have to bite my tongue. I’ve told her a million times not to swerve for animals. “C’mon, let’s get back to the cabin and we can call for a tow truck to get the SUV out of the ditch.”
We get back to the vehicle, but before I put the car in drive, Liz wraps her arms around me. “Thank you for saving me. I was starting to get so scared.”
“Baby, I will always save you.” Liz turns my face toward her and kisses me. At first, it’s soft, but then it gets more aggressive, her emotions showing through. I reach over, without breaking our kiss, and grab the curves of her hips, bringing her onto my lap. Our kissing continues. Our tongues entwining with one another. When we break for air, her lips don’t stop. She kisses my cheek, my jawline, then she moves to my neck.
“Cooper, I want you. Now.” My cock stands at attention, realizing he’s going to get to come out to play. Without thinking twice, I press the button to push the seat back, giving us room. Liz lifts her ass up, pulling her jeans down while I unzip mine, taking my cock out. It’s a tight fit in the SUV, but nothing is going to stop me from getting inside my wife. Her shoes and pants go flying and I push mine down.
She sits back on my lap, her pussy grinding against my now hard shaft. Leaning down, she gives me a kiss over my heart then looks me right in my eyes and says, “I need you inside me.”
Best. Wife. Ever.
Sticking a digit into her to make sure she’s wet, I find she’s dripping. She lifts her sexy ass up, and before I can push my cock into her warmth, she grabs my shaft and guides it in herself. As she comes down slowly, her head falls back, eyes closed, in pleasure. I grab her amble tits in my hands and roll her nipples between my fingers, eliciting a moan out of her.
Once I’m all the way in, she opens her eyes and smiles at me. Fuck! I love this woman. Taking one of her tits into my mouth, I suck on her puckered nipple then give the other one the same attention. Liz’s hands come up landing on my shoulders, and then she lifts her ass up a few inches before coming back down, my cock hitting her deep. So fucking deep.
She starts off riding me slow, her tight pussy gripping my cock. My hands stay on her tits, massaging them, tweaking her nipples. The more her pussy adjusts to my cock, the faster she rides me. “Oh God! Cooper!”
Leaning closer to me, she brings her mouth to mine, kissing me with abandon as she rides my cock. I can feel her pussy grinding me as she finds the perfect spot to get herself off. Reaching down with one hand, I feel for her clit and am met with an, “Oh fuck!” when I find it. It’s muffled, her lips still locked with mine.
Gathering her wetness, I start rubbing her clit. The deeper I rub, the harder and faster she rides me, her moves growing more frantic. I know she’s close when her legs tighten up and her movements get faster, even more crazy like she can’t control herself. Her kisses become more intense, her mouth sucking on my tongue. A few more circles on her clit and she’s climaxing all over my cock, choking the fuck out of it.
Her face falls to my shoulder and her body goes limp. Grabbing her hips, I take over, pounding into my wife from the bottom. Her pussy spasms around my cock from her orgasm and it creates a domino effect. A few seconds later and I’m coming deep inside of her warmth.
Needing a few minutes to come down from our high, neither of us moves, until… there’s a knock on
the window.
“Oh my God! Cooper!” Liz shrieks, attempting to cover herself. Luckily the windows are somewhat tinted, but I’m sure whoever is at the window can see our bodies enough to know what’s going on. Reaching down with Liz still on me, I grab her shirt and hand it to her to put on. Then I look around and see some napkins in the center console. Lifting her off my cock, gravity takes over and my cum drips down the inside of her leg. And holy shit, if that doesn’t have me wanting round two. I quickly wipe it up the best I can with the napkins and set her in the passenger seat, handing her the napkins so she can finish cleaning herself up.
She wipes up quickly, pulling her panties and pants up, zipping and buttoning them. I use a napkin to wipe my cock and pull my briefs and jeans up. Once we’re both decent, I roll down my window and come face to face with an officer. Thankfully, his badge reads Wildlife.
“Where was he when I was walking?” Liz huffs out.
“Officer,” I say, nodding my head.
“Is everything okay here? I saw an abandoned vehicle a few miles down.”
“My wife swerved for an animal”—I give her a side-eye—“and ended up in the snow bank. I found her walking.”
“Well, I’m glad everything is okay. I can call for a tow truck if you’d like.”
“That would be great. I don’t think there’s any damage. We just need to get it out of the snowbank.”
The officer turns his back on us, walking to his truck, probably to radio someone to call for a tow truck.
“You wanna tell me why you drove out without me?” I already know the answer to this, but I want to see Liz squirm. She has no idea that we both forgot to buy each other gifts this year. Clearly, we’re a match made in heaven.
Her shoulders rise and fall and she makes an annoyed huffing noise. “Fine! I forgot to buy you a Christmas present.” She rolls her eyes, waiting for me to give her shit.
“I did too.” I shrug.