Graphite

by Anne Leigh

  “Can I plant one on you…” Grounding my center to the growing tent in his jeans, “Down there?”

  His eyes dilated with want and the deep tenor of his voice shook when he said, “How can you look so angelic, but be so dirty at the same time?”

  I giggled because no one has ever called me ‘dirty’ except for him.

  No man has wanted me to be ‘dirty’ except for Bishop.

  “Is that a yes?” My brow was raised but he couldn’t see it because I was already licking his earlobe. A ticklish and sensitive spot for him.

  “Fuck, yes.” He grabbed me from the sitting position and slowly positioned me so that when he walked, I could feel his cock hard and solid against my center that was protected with my thong underwear and thin navy tights.

  He delved his mouth deeper into mine and before he settled me into the passenger seat of his truck, he gave my right butt cheek a solid smack with his left hand.

  “That’s for being a naughty girl in public.”

  “You like me naughty,” I said as soon as he settled into the driver seat.

  He turned his head towards me and with an intensity that could power his truck, he said. “I like all of you, babe. Naughty, nice. Naked, clothed. Everything.”

  I grabbed his right hand and pressed it to my mouth, “Me too, Bishop. Me too. You’re everything to me.”

  Bishop

  We were warming up on the field when Ian said at my side, “Are you ready?”

  His question was two-fold.

  Was I ready for the game? Yes.

  Was I ready for Kara cheering for me along with my frat brothers? In a way, yes.

  In a way, no.

  I’d wanted to talk to Rikko before today. I’d asked my girl if I could and she said that she wanted to be the one to tell him.

  I’d wanted to give Scott the respect of learning that I was with Kara from me. I’d told Kara about it, but she said no, that it should come from her, because she was in a relationship with him and not me.

  I hadn’t seen much of Rikko and Scott since they had games and I had games. They had classes and so did I.

  We’d been texting about random things such as the newbies not taking their cleanup duties seriously and what our holiday plans were. Bridge wanted to go to Aspen instead of New York for Thanksgiving and I knew that she was doing all that she could to avoid spending it with our mother and I wasn’t going to stand in her way. My mother hardly defended us from Dad’s demands when he was alive because she was too busy making herself richer and more famous so it wasn’t a hardship for me to say no to her nowadays.

  I had somewhat of a relationship with her in a way that I didn’t hang up when she called, but I couldn’t say the same for Bridge. It wasn’t up to me; it was up to my sister to bridge that gap between them.

  “I’m ready,” I answered Ian who was stretching on the grass. “I just don’t want her to be hurt.”

  “What about you?” He asked, his right arm over his left, stretching before the game made our muscles less tight and acclimatized to the weather. Ian and I always stretched together. It’s been our tradition since we met in practice during our first year of college.

  “I’m gonna be fine,” I said, feeling the burn of the squat between my thighs and my ass. “I’ve wanted to get to know her from the second I met her. And it sucked when she was with Scott, but now that she’s mine, I’m not gonna let her go.”

  “You really like her.” Ian’s voice had a hint of disbelief.

  I stood up and shook my legs, “I do.”

  “What the fuck?” We heard Cons yell at Jose. Those two never let up. Jose ran around Cons and Cons took off his shirt, ready to smack Jose with it when Coach yelled, “Hey!”

  Hey meant it was time to gather around Coach and talk for a few minutes.

  Coach Masterson gave us the pep talk and discussed a few strategies and then it was time to head back to the locker room.

  My eyes wandered to the front-row seats reserved by our frat brothers. I’d instructed Cody to bring Kara to the front, knowing that she was there for me, wearing the jersey I’d given her personally.

  I gave her three. The two were in the laundry basket because when I saw her wearing them, I couldn’t keep my cock from swelling with pride so we’d ended up fooling around in her tiny bed and soon they were soaked with our combined lust for each other.

  She’d texted me earlier that she was running late because she had an appointment with some waxing lady and the lady was running late.

  I asked her to send me a picture of what she was having waxed and she said that she’d surprise me tonight. Her roommate was back in their dorm already so she’d booked us at a hotel for tonight. She’d also texted that everything was paid for with a smiley face emoji. I knew that it was hard for her to have me pay all the time, so sometimes I let her pay for popcorn and soda at the movies as long as I paid for the movie tickets. We talked about splitting the bill at times, but I often shushed her with kisses. I hadn’t spent money on a woman in years and I sure as shit wasn’t going to have her spend on me.

  Talk was loud in the locker room, and I knew that my teammates were pumped.

  They were extra pumped because The Rugby Channel would be featuring our game on TV. Starting last year, our games had been featured on mainstream TV stations and it was largely due to the growing popularity of the sport.

  “You gonna do another interview today?” Cons asked, his feet on the bench as he tied his shoes.

  It was a question he’d asked me for years. I declined every single time, win or lose. I knew he’d said ‘another interview’ because of College Game Day. Coach Masterson was the only one required to do the interviews after the games, but every now and then, reporters wanted to ask me about a win. I didn’t have to so when we won, I often talked to the fans instead of doing interviews with the media and headed to the locker rooms after.

  “Maybe,” I answered, which made him look up.

  I’d never answered with a maybe; it was always a ‘no’.

  “Huh.” A confused look crossed his face. “What changed?”

  Jose barged in. “Bishop’s getting regular pussy now so his mouth is all stretched out and ready to talk.”

  I grabbed a tennis ball and shot it towards Jose, hitting him square on his chest. “Dios Mio! That hurt!”

  “She’s my girlfriend, you idiot, not regular pussy,” I said in annoyance.

  “Ooohhh, Captain’s defensive.” Cons stood up and smirked, “What you’re saying is she’s your girlfriend and you’re not getting regular pussy?”

  I breathed out. It was useless to talk to these stupid idiots.

  Jose muttered, in a voice that I could hear, “I wonder if her pussy’s all golden, too? Like her hair?”

  Another tennis ball flew from my hand, hitting him on his left shoulder, “Stop talking about my girlfriend’s privates.”

  Ian was laughing loudly on the bench as the rest of our teammates became quiet, no doubt wanting to hear the gossip about pussies and girlfriends.

  “He said privates not pussy.” Cons egged on, “Damn, it must be golden, Jose.”

  The last thing I wanted was for these fools to wonder about Kara’s pussy, privates, whatever it was, they couldn’t be talking shit about it.

  “Alright kids! Stop the chatter about pussies!” It was Coach Masterson.

  Everyone laughed including me. I knew I was being overly sensitive, but I couldn’t stand anyone talking smack about my girlfriend, and no way did I want Jose thinking about how golden she was.

  I shook my head because I knew they were just being guys, and all that mattered was that they were nice to her, which they were. They could talk all about her between us, but the minute she was anywhere within our vicinity, they were respectful of her.

  Coach’s voice echoed in the locker room, “Let’s show Berkeley that this is how we play rugby! Let’s send them home today thinking that they lost to a great team!”

  “Aye ay
e,” Cons answered and the rest of us followed.

  Coach said his pitch and as we walked outside of the locker room, Jose sidled by me and said, “Man, I’m sorry. You know I didn’t mean it that way…”

  I nodded and patted his back, “Yeah. It’s cool.”

  “She gonna be here today?” He asked and as we walked towards the field, my eyes strayed towards the front row seats to my left, where my frat brothers, including Rikko and Scott were already sitting and chomping on hotdogs and soda.

  Kara wasn’t here yet.

  But she would be.

  “Yeah. She will,” I said to Jose and stood to the side, watching the officials walk around the field, some checking for stray objects that might injure players and some chatting before the start of the game.

  I took a deep breath in and heard the SDU crowd cheer our presence.

  The cheerleaders were on the side, raising their arms, asking the crowd to be louder.

  Today, my girl was going to be cheering for me on the sidelines.

  It was going to be a good day.

  A great day.

  I closed my eyes briefly and envisioned the routes I was going to take and the goals I was going to kick. I tensed my shoulders and relaxed them. I tensed my legs and relaxed them. The progressive muscle relaxation was something I’d learned from years of playing hockey and in a way, I’d adapted it here in rugby.

  I whispered my mantra, blocking out the noise from the crowd, “…the view from the top.”

  I felt the weight of the world leave my shoulders as the national anthem was played and before I took a step on the field, I let my eyes drift to the stands.

  Her golden mass of hair called to me, and I saw her hands waving at me, before she put a finger to her lips and shot me a kiss. A kiss I returned with a smile and a wave back.

  It was the exact time that a camera on the field focused on her and her beautiful face was magnified on the jumbotron and at that moment, I could care less.

  For the first time in my life, I was on the field where I knew that the grass was beneath me, but I felt like floating.

  Ian who was standing inches away from me said, “Dude. Her face is gonna be all over Twitter in a matter of minutes.”

  “What?” I asked, not quite getting what he’s thinking.

  “Did you see the way her face was blasted on the big screen?” He shook his head and I still didn’t get his meaning.

  “For years they’ve been trying to ask you if you had a girlfriend and shit, and now that there’s a pretty lady that you’ve acknowledged for the first time ever, you guys are gonna be trending hashtag couple goals for the next day or so.”

  I wasn’t on Twitter, I had Insta and even there I seldom posted or responded to any messages.

  I shrugged my shoulders and as Wayne, Berkeley’s most reliable kicker, kicked off the ball to start the play, I pushed back the thoughts of everything that was happening in the stands.

  What was my girl feeling?

  How was Rikko reacting?

  How was Scott addressing Kara?

  The ball traveled in the direction of Cons and he passed it efficiently towards me and my mind took over, willing my legs to move it towards Jose.

  I was down here and Kara was up there watching me.

  For the next eighty minutes, this was my world.

  And I had one goal: to win.

  We won by 8 points. Cons grounded the ball in the in-goal area and the nail in Berkeley’s coffin was Justin’s drop kick that made it way past the crossbar and the uprights of the goal posts.

  Overall it was a great game, and I was happy for the win.

  The locker room was filled with jubilant cheers and tonight was extra meaningful for me.

  Tonight, I’d surpassed the record I’d set last year for scoring.

  And tonight, there was a special woman who wore my jersey and proclaimed to everyone watching that she was there for me.

  Speaking of Kara, I grabbed my phone from the locker and turned it on.

  I ignored the deluge of notifications from Instagram and scrolled through my texts.

  There were two from Rikko.

  The first was, WTH?

  The second was, We need to talk.

  None from Scott.

  Aside from the good luck text from Kara, I hadn’t seen any follow-up texts.

  “Hey, we’re gonna go grab a few drinks. You wanna come with?” It was Cons.

  I shook my head and said, “Thanks man, I got plans.”

  He nodded and left the room along with my remaining teammates.

  Ian and I were always the last ones to leave the locker room, but Ian had to rush out after the game since he had to carve out some time for his parents who were visiting from Arizona.

  I dried my hair with the towel and sat down on the bench.

  I always felt energized after a game, especially after winning. The adrenaline didn’t subside right away and I couldn’t wait to see my girl out there. My cock slowly stirred as I thought of my plans for her tonight. Every time I sank into her, I felt like I was getting inside of her for the first time.

  Kara was responsive in bed and the way her pussy clamped down on my cock made me struggle to contain my enthusiasm inside for a long time. But I always let her finish first. My woman deserved that from me.

  I hadn’t had sex in three years.

  Not from lack of opportunity. I just got tired of the meaninglessness of it. I wanted someone who meant more to me than just a fuck.

  I wanted someone who stayed with me after we’d both orgasmed and rubbed my abs as if she couldn’t get enough of me.

  I wanted someone who challenged my opinions and never backed down.

  I wanted someone who satisfied herself by getting off on me and pleasured me at the same time.

  I didn’t have a checklist before Kara.

  But if I did, she’d have checked off all my wants and more.

  I texted her before I pulled on my jeans, Where are you babe?

  The dots formed a bubble on the reply box, Outside waiting for you.

  Be right there, I responded back.

  Rikko’s here with me, she texted back.

  Three months ago, if someone had asked me what my priorities in life were, I’d say without hesitation, School. Frat. Rugby.

  Their order of importance changed depending on what I was currently focused on.

  But now.

  Now if someone asked me what my priorities were, I’d tell them, Kara. Rugby. School. Frat.

  And the last three could change in rankings, but Kara would take top shelf.

  I didn’t know what I was missing until I had her in my life.

  And I’d do my damnedest to keep her, whether her brother approved of it or not.

  “Hey.”

  My head was down as I walked out of the locker room and through the hallway towards the parking lot.

  “Hey babe.” I smiled at her and checked her out. She’d worn her hair loose, the California sun had tamed her hair into an alluring blonde that reminded me of butter and honey rolled into one. Her deep blue eyes lit up her face and I couldn’t help but get a taste of her rosy lips.

  Kara never hesitated to welcome my kisses. As if she was desperate for them as I was.

  “Mmhhhmmm…” She mumbled and I rearranged my athletic bag on my right shoulder so I could grab ahold of her curves better.

  She’d worn white shorts that looked amazing on her legs and I couldn’t wait to have them wrapped around my shoulders so I could dip into her heat.

  “Rikko’s waiting for us.” Her statement lifted the fog of lust that appeared whenever she was around.

  I nodded my head and pulled her waist to my side as we walked side-by-side towards SDU’s West Parking Lot.

  “How is he?” I asked. Rikko and I had a good relationship before this, before I hid a secret from him – that I was dating his sister. I was hoping that our relationship would remain the same after this.

  “He’s
…” Kara’s expression turned sad. “Not happy.”

  “Did he say something to you during the game?” I nudged her closer to me, needing to feel her skin against my hands.

  “He said that I should’ve warned him about it, that I should have known better than to date you,” Kara stated, not mincing words.

  My jaw flexed instinctually, “He shouldn’t be blaming you. It’s not just you in this relationship. It’s you and me.”

  “I know. I just don’t want to cause problems between you and him. The last thing I want is for you to be kicked out of your frat.” I heard the worry in her voice and I felt the heavy weight of her words. She wasn’t a meek woman who’d stand there to let me burn.

  She was going to see this through with me and damn if that didn’t make me want to kiss her senselessly right now.

  But we were nearing the parking lot and I had to face this head-on.

  “I’ll talk to him.” I was hoping that my reassurance was enough to lessen her worries. “Maybe we could have done this differently but it is what it is. There’s no going back.”

  I kissed her forehead and gave her the keys to my truck, “Will you wait for me while I talk to Rikko?”

  Rikko had strategically parked his GT-R beside my Chevy Silverado. He was waiting inside the driver seat of his car and got out as soon as he spotted me.

  I let go of Kara and watched her as she walked towards my truck. Once she was safely ensconced inside the passenger seat, I heard Rikko’s cold voice a few feet away.

  “Dammit Bishop!” He’d always called me brother, now we were back to first name basis. “Why didn’t you guys say something?”

  I didn’t say anything.

  I wanted to give him the chance to let it all out.

  He was my girlfriend’s brother and my frat brother – these alone gave him the leverage to speak.

  “This is fucked up. Scott’s fucking pissed and I can’t even fucking defend you or my sister…” His fists clenched, and from where I was standing, I could tell he was restraining himself from hitting anything. My face. His car. My car.