“This was for us. I didn’t like the old one anyway and I wanted nothing but us in this room when I make love to you. I can’t change my past, but I sure as shit can erase anything that would make you question it.”
I feel sick thinking about him in this house with the barrage of women he’s had over the years. “It’s nice,” is all I can get out.
“Don’t shut down, Ari. For the rest of our fucking lives, it’s just us. We can replace anything in this place you want. But let me tell you, I have never taken a woman on the bar top or made love in my pool. I’m about to take you to my shower, which will be a first as well. So don’t let your mind wonder. 99% of this house is ours to christen.”
My stomach flutters at his words and I smile up at him. “We’re going to have shower sex. It’s been years for me.”
“Better fucking be, since I am the last guy you were with.” He growls.
“How much time till we have to leave?”
“We have forty-five minutes. I have your coffee ready.”
“Okay, then we better get started. I want to make sure I get the full experience.”
His lips twitch and he grins as he takes me to the massive bathroom.
Chapter 16
Reed
“You’re going to need a permanent set of caps for your pearly whites if you don’t quit grinding your teeth.” Bobbie laughs at me.
I can’t help it, ever since we stepped foot on this boat today Ari has been swept away with the women and they have kept her busy. Even when we stopped for lunch, the two wives sandwiched her between them and I was pushed to the end of the table. Which sucked because everyone knows if you sit at the end you are responsible for paying.
Now we are at the sandbar and the girls are lounging on floats that are roped to the back of the boat. There are at least fifteen more boats around and most of them are full of guys. Bobbie’s boat is by far the biggest out here. Our crew is made up of four large football players both black and white and each of us has a woman. Even Bobbie brought a date. Two of the guys are married and Bobbie isn’t the jealous type. But I am and Ari is wearing a black skimpy bikini that shows almost everything she has to offer.
“Yo, jackass—you hear me or what?” Dwayne, an offensive lineman on the team asks.
“No, what?”
“What’s the deal? Honestly, I’ve never seen you like this. You had a pussy radar on you for years and suddenly you show up to a pre-season party with that arm candy and announce you have a kid? I don’t want to sound like a teenage girl, but what’s the fucking story here?”
I take a gulp of my beer and shrug my shoulders. “We were fucked over, man. She was my college sweetheart but that doesn’t even sound right. We were two months from me getting drafted and graduating. She agreed to move with me no matter where I was. I’d already decided we wouldn’t step foot into a new town without me putting a ring on her finger. Then some fucked up shit went down and we spilt up. I was a fucking idiot and let her slip through my fingers.”
“I knew it! I fucking win you losers! Pay up.” Lamar, a defensive end, raises his arms in victory.
“What the hell?”
“Matthews, I wasn’t kidding last night. When you get drunk you always babble about the one that got away. When I saw you last night looking at her like a puppy, I knew she was your girl. None of us ever asked, but coach knew the story. He told us when we all signed to watch out for you. He had a fear you would self-destruct. But you never did, so we never asked.”
“You’re shitting me?”
“Nah, man, we’ve always known there was a girl. We just didn’t know how special she was.”
“Is, how special she is.” I correct him and look at the other guys.
“Must had been some serious shit to let her go.” Bobbie says
“Like I said, I was an idiot.”
“What about the kid? How’d that happen? And are you sure—”
I throw my phone at him to shut him up. If one more person asks me if Davis is mine, I’ll punch them.
He looks at the picture on the screen and whistles through his teeth. Then he passes around to the other guys. “It’s literally like looking at a mini Reed.”
“Isn’t it fucking unbelievable? I told my mom and I’ll tell you guys the same, those two are my family. It took a while to convince Ari to take me back, but I finally got through. I’m not going to fuck up again.”
“How’d you find out about your son?” Lamar asks.
I open my mouth to tell him but here loud giggling behind me and see the girls smiling and watching another boat of guys playing around in the water.
“You know what; I think Ari should tell you that part. Let’s go out there with them. I also need to stake claim, that douche from the blue boat can’t keep his eyes off her.” I grab two beers and a koozie.
“Are you seriously putting your fucking beer in a koozie? Did you grow a vagina too?” Bobbie looks at me horrified.
“Nah, man it’s for Ari. She likes her beer to stay cold. I drink mine to fast to worry about that.”
I walk down the steps into the water and make my way to where the ladies have set up a small circle. Ari smiles when she sees me coming toward her. Her skin is pink from the sun but she blushes when she notices me staring at the triangle top. I see the outline of a bite mark I left last night that she tried to cover with make-up. She takes the beer from me and starts to say thanks, but I cut her off. Without warning, my mouth claims hers. I kiss her deep until a voice clears behind us and I pull back. Her face flashes red and she rolls her eyes.
“So what do we owe the pleasure of you guys joining us and ruining a perfectly good gossip session?” Lamar’s wife, Shani, asks.
“Sorry, Shani, but these idiots turned nosy. They want to know the story about finding Ari and Davis. I thought Ari should tell it.”
“Oooh, girl, do tell. I was saving that for the bottle of wine on the way back.”
Ari looks embarrassed but tells a little about our breakup and the misunderstanding. Then she tells how after I saw them on the beach then hired a private investigator and showed up at her door. Her story is short and rehearsed like she has been practicing it. She leaves out the most personal parts, specifically me declaring her mine and claiming her forever last night. When she’s done, a few of the girls wipe their eyes, but only Bobbie’s date has anything to say.
“I guess that’s why Tina had such a bitch fit last night. She heard Reed not only had a girlfriend, but a son.”
“What do you know about Tina?” Shani spews.
“Just that she was telling anyone that would listen that Reed got a girl knocked up and she was demanding that he bring her into his life. Tina said—”
“This before or after the dancing started?”
“After.”
“Skinny bitch needs to learn her lesson. I thought we took care of her in the bathroom.”
“What are you talking about?” Lamar asks his wife.
I look at Ari who has gone pale and is shaking her head at the other women. Shani doesn’t care and continues.
“That bitch cornered Ari in the bathroom last night and told her all sorts of lies. Then she accused her of trying to lock down Reed with a kid that didn’t belong to him. I’d already decided I liked Ari, so I stepped in and told her to back her skanky ass up. I threatened to tell all the rookies she had an STD and have her banned from any other player party. Then I told her that player pussy never becomes wife material and her days were limited since she insulted a player’s woman. She tried to back talk but Sassy stepped in and explained that if she didn’t shut up, she would tell Reed everything.”
Anger boils up from my stomach and I understand why Ari looked miffed last night when she came back from the bathroom. I expect this stuff from the public, but not some piece of ass with no self- respect. Sure, I’d fucked her once and let her suck me off a few times, but she never saw the inside of my car or my house. I didn’t even ask for her phone number.
“Hey, you okay?” Ari’s sweet voice breaks through my thoughts and her fingertips rub my cheek. I lean into her touch and kiss her lightly.
“Yeah, I’m pissed that it happened. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I knew she was trash the minute she opened her mouth. We were having such a great night, and I was meeting your friends for the first time. Then when we got home, things kinda got busy.”
“Got busy? Is that what we’re calling it now?” I tease her and watch a blush rise in her cheeks.
“Yoo hoo! Lovebirds—are you listening to me?” Sassy, Dwayne’s wife yells at us.
“No.”
“Well, I can see it won’t be long until Davis has a brother or sister.” This must shock Ari because she pushes me off her so fast I lose my footing and fall backwards under the water taking my beer with me. I flail around until I find the bottom and stand up soaking wet. My entire crew is laughing at me but I only have eyes for the woman a few feet away. I storm towards her as she tries to paddle away but I get close enough to jump on her float and sink us into the water.
“Reed! Stop! Please stop! You’re getting me all wet.”
My dick jumps to attention in my shorts and I lean down to her ear. “You don’t usually complain when I make you all wet. As a matter of fact, I can think of about six instances in the last three weeks you’ve screamed in pleasure from being wet. Four last night alone.”
Her nipples tighten against my bare chest and her breath catches in her throat. When I look in her eyes, they are the color of jade, which means I have succeeded in turning her on. I hold the stare until I can roll into the water without anyone seeing the raging hard on I have. Moving to the side, I keep my arms propped on her float and face our friends again.
“Girl, what the hell happened to your chest? Is that makeup?” Sassy interrupts.
Ari moves to try and cover her chest but it’s too late. The outline of my bite mark is obvious against her skin. She opens her mouth to say something but then just shakes her head, embarrassed.
No one else says anything and we stay in the water drinking beer and hanging out until it’s time to go. Bobbie drops us off right at my dock and it takes Ari ten minutes to say goodbye to everyone. She’s even nice to Bobbie’s date, even though no one can remember her name. She invites them and their families to her annual Fourth of July beach barbeque.
We pack quickly and she calls Davis to let him know we’ll be home soon. I drive us back to her house and we discuss my mom’s visit next weekend. They’ve spoken once on the phone and talked through our situation, and both women cried but promised to move on with their relationship. After listening to Ari’s side of things, my mom understood why Ari didn’t tell me about Davis.
“Ari, I want you and Davis to stay at the beach house next weekend when Mom’s here.”
“Are you sure? That’s kind of weird isn’t it?”
“Babe, she knows we aren’t virgins. We have proof. There’s plenty of room. It’ll really mean a lot to me. I don’t want to leave her alone at night. And there’s no way in fuck I’m sleeping without you.”
She bites her lower lip and looks at me. “Okay, Reed, we’ll stay with you. But we need to have Grandma Katy included. It’s important to her.”
“No problem.”
The rest of the drive we discuss her barbeque and I convince her to have it at my house. Since she invited a bunch of players, word will get around and more will come. I have more room, proximity to the beach, and better parking.
When we get to her house, Davis runs on the front porch to greet us and jumps into her arms. I join in the hug holding them both tight.
“Happy Fawders Day!” he screams over and over to me. Ari looks up at me with a sparkle in her eyes and smiles.
“I love you Reed Matthews.”
The world around me stops and warmth flows through my body. Fucking finally!
“No, I’m not kidding. I met a lot of them. Most of them were quite lovely.”
“Ari! You don’t call professional football players in the NFL ‘lovely’. It’s a disgrace. Have I taught you nothing?” Luke shakes his head and throws his hands in the air.
“Babe, Luke’s right. Need to come up with a new term before half my team shows up for the party on the Fourth.” I kiss her neck quickly and sit down next to her.
“Is Davis asleep?”
“Apparently Katy let him stay up late last night and Luke wore him out at the beach today. He didn’t make it through the first book. Thanks again, man, I owe you.” I look at Luke and nod my head.
“You don’t owe me anything, I’m family. Speaking of family, I heard your mom is coming in next Thursday night. What’s the plan for the weekend?”
I invite him and Sophie to join us on Friday night for dinner and he agrees to bring Katy. We move the conversation to the upcoming football camps and practices. Ari tells him what happened with her boss on Friday and that Sarah is still avoiding her. I inwardly groan when Sophie walks in the door and demands Ari tell her about the weekend. It feels like I’m never going to get Ari to myself. They move to the patio and Luke eyes me suspiciously.
“Something’s different. I can’t figure it out but something different since y’all left the soccer fields yesterday.”
I squirm in my chair and try to avoid his gaze. “Yeah, a lot changed. I got to tell my boss and teammates about my son. I introduced Ari to my friends. We got to spend time together, not focused on Davis, and I think I finally got through to her how I feel. I’m not going anywhere, ever.” I leave out all the sex involved.
He nods and takes a tug of his beer with his eyes boring into me. “Is there a monkey suit in the near future?”
“I have to take baby steps with her. I told her I was done going slow. Need to get her and mom back together before I can move forward with my plan.”
“What are you going to do about Jack?”
“Fuck, I don’t know. I’m still furious with him, but Ari wants me to talk to him. My mom even mentioned having him come to dinner one night. He’s been in my life for twenty-four years.”
“We all make choices when it comes to the people we love. He made a bad one but I agree with Ari, you should talk to him.”
“I’ll give him a call sometime. Now, since the girls are busy, I need to talk to you about some things. I may need your help to pull off my plan.”
“What plan is that?” He raises his eyebrows at me.
“Operation Matthews.”
Chapter 17
Ari
“Tell me again.” Reed whispers against my neck as he slowly glides in and out of me.
In my state of ecstasy, every inch of my body is humming. His slow movements continue to hit me so deep, I whimper against his skin.
“Angel, I need to hear it while I’m buried deep inside you. Don’t make me wait any longer.” He pushes up and braces on his elbows. His eyes capture mine and I reach up and frame his face with my hands.
“I love you Reed Matthews, so much.”
His expression changes and so does his pace. He leans down and kisses me, really kisses me with a sense of possessiveness and love. His movements speed up and I pull away to moan through the orgasm that washes over me. His head drops against me and groans through his own release. He slows down again and breathes heavily.
“Gotta say, there’s nothing I enjoy more than making love to you, but it’s going to take some time learning to be quiet. I like hearing you scream my name.”
“Honey—”
“Right, listen we need to talk about something. That’s the fifth time I’ve come inside you without a condom. I’d like to say I’m sorry, but I’m not. I lose my mind when I get near you.”
“It’s okay.”
“If you want to use condoms, I’ll do it, but I’d like to get you back on birth control.”
“It’s okay.” I say again realizing he isn’t listening to me.
“I’m clean, but I’ll have another t
est if you want me to. I know you are too.” He keeps talking. For a brief second I think of him with all the women before me, but I push it out of my mind. That’s something we should have discussed before we fell into bed, but now it’s too late.
“Reed, honey, listen to me. It’s OKAY.”
He shuts his mouth and looks at me with confusion.
“After Davis was born, I realized the shot wasn’t a good form of protection for me. I had an IUD inserted. I don’t have to worry about it. When you started to talk about getting serious again, I called my doctor. I am protected.”
“You always were the smart one.”
“Not smart, just prepared.”
“I love you.”
“I love you too.”
“Forever.” He rolls to the side and pulls me close. I want to mention cleaning up but instead, snuggle closer to his warmth.
I look around the small diner for Reed, hoping he’s already here. I only have an hour for lunch today due to an afternoon of scheduled meetings. When he called and asked me to meet him, I tried to say no until he told me how important it was.
He waves at me from a back table where he is seated with a man that has his back to me. When I join them, Reed gets up to greet me and kisses my cheek softly. I gasp when I recognize the man across the booth. It’s been weeks, but there’s no doubt who he is.
“Ari, this is Trey. Trey this is Arianna Williams.” He introduces us and I shake the man’s hand.
“Reed, why are we meeting with a land inspector?”
Both men smirk but have the decency not to laugh at me. I slant my eyes in annoyance and Reed quickly sobers.
“Baby, Trey’s not a land inspector. He’s a Private Investigator. He’s my PI. I used him to help me find you and Davis.”
My mouth drops and this time both men laugh.
“This is not funny! This man was on my property. He approached Katy alone. What if he was dangerous!”
“Ari, I worked with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office for years as an officer and then worked missing persons as a detective. I left the force because I wanted to work for myself once my pension kicked in. I still have good friends in the department and I promise you I am only dangerous when I need to be.”
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