Slide

by Michelle Congdon

  I felt his chest shake and a light chuckle escaped him. “‘The most delicious piece of meat’, huh?”

  I smiled, continuing my torturous tease of his body. When I reached the top of his boxer briefs, I slipped my hand inside. A sharp hiss escaped through his teeth as he instantly hardened with my touch. Grabbing hold of him, I traced my thumb over his tip then glided my hand down to his base. “The only monster I know of, is this guy right here,” I teased, giving him a firm squeeze down there.

  Using his hand, Ryan cupped my chin and tilted my face up to his. He reached down and kissed me, our lips somehow finding each other in the dark.

  Suddenly, a low whining sound came from the foot of the bed before a heavy lump got up and jumped off the bed. Both Ryan and I froze. Realizing that we’d completely forgotten that Duke was still in the room with us, we burst out laughing. Poor Duke.

  “Shit, sorry buddy,” Ryan said sitting up. I sat up with him. “Guess he wants out.”

  “I don’t blame him.” I chuckled. Feeling the bed rise I added, “Be careful of the broken pieces on the ground.”

  “I guess I should clean that up, huh?” He said walking away from me.

  “We’ll do it tomorrow. Right now, there’s something more important I want to do.”

  I heard the door open and close, and before I knew it Ryan was bouncing back on the bed, only this time he took hold of both my wrists and held them above my head. I wrapped my legs around him, forcing him to settle in between with his hard bulge pressing against me. We were nose to nose. If I really wanted to, I could reach up and kiss him, but I had something else to say first.

  Ryan tilted his head and kissed my cheek, then pressed another one closer to my ear before nibbling on my earlobe. I let out an involuntary moan.

  To my surprise he then licked the side of my face. “Ryan!” I giggled. “That’s so gross!” Trying to turn away, I was met with another quick lick, which got my nose. “Stop it!” I added trying to stop from laughing.

  He chuckled, before showering my face with multiple tiny kisses. “Better?”

  I pouted even though I knew he wouldn’t be able to see it and shook my head from side to side. “I know what would make it better,” he purred.

  Letting one of my wrist’s go, his hand travelled down to the spot between my legs. “You want me in there, don’t you?” he said tracing circles on the outside of my underwear.

  I took a sharp breath in and closed my eyes. Wait! There was something I had to say to him. My eyes shot open. “Ryan, wait!” I whispered.

  Ryan stilled immediately. “What is it?” he replied in a worried tone.

  “I just wanted to say that, I think I’m in love with you too―”

  I didn’t have time to say anything else because Ryan’s mouth slammed into mine. There I’d said it. Somehow a messed-up girl like me managed to find the perfect messed-up boy. We both shared dark and terrifying pasts that were always going to be there, but now instead of trying to battle against the darkness on our own, we had the love and support of each other to help us through it.

  CHAPTER 22

  I woke up the next day naked and nestled in the arms of a guy who was wearing the biggest grin on his face. It was the chirpiest I’d ever seen Ryan. But I wasn’t complaining, it was just good see him this way, especially after everything that had happened last night.

  I helped to clean up the broken statue pieces in the bedroom before we met the rest of the family downstairs for breakfast. I was expecting to find the girls upset or even angry by what had happened last night, but instead I was stunned to find them staring at us in surprise as we walked in together, and Ryan was laughing at a story he was telling me about one of his teammates. Although, I had to admit I blushed when my eyes met Serafina’s proud, beaming face.

  We had to make our way back to New York shortly after breakfast. The girls― including Gabriella ― all came out to say goodbye and promised that they’d all be at their brother’s game later tonight.

  “Are you coming tonight, Evangeline?” Annabelle asked, her big, hazel eyes begging me to say yes.

  I looked over at Ryan but he was deep in conversation with his mother to even notice. “I guess it depends if Ryan wants me there,” I replied with a shrug, turning back to face her.

  “Of course he does! Why wouldn’t he? We’ll all be there, and plus, he’s going to be away for the next two and a half weeks. Shouldn’t you guys spend as much time together as possible?”

  Annabelle had a point, but it wasn’t as simple as that. Somehow, I got too carried away with telling Ryan how I felt last night, and I’d forgotten to bother asking what this meant for us. Were we ‘officially’ together or not? It seemed like a stupid question considering Ryan admitted to having only slept with me since and because we confessed our true feelings for each other. Wasn’t confirming a relationship status supposed to take place before those things? Was it important to label what we had?

  “Leave the poor girl alone, Annie!” Chiara chimed in, lightly pushing her sister to the side. “It was lovely to meet you, Evangeline,” she said looking at me with a smile. Then her face fell and she added with a low voice, “I’m so sorry about everything that happened last night. I know it must’ve been hard and you’re probably thinking we’re one big messed-up family, but in the end, I think you did the right thing by staying. I honestly don’t want think about what would’ve happened if you decided to leave last night.” She leaned over and hugged me. I hugged her back. “Thank you,” she whispered in my ear just before she pulled away.

  I smiled at Chiara, trying to force myself not to cry. Why am I getting emotional again? “And are you okay, Annabelle? It’s just that was a lot of information to throw at you last night… I’m worried about you.” The words barely came out. I thought she hadn’t heard me but Annabelle lifted her head and gave me a small smile and nodded, indicating she had.

  “I’ll be okay, thank you, Evangeline,” she replied in a quiet voice before throwing her arms around me.

  I was glad to see her smiling. If it were me, I’m not sure how I would’ve handled hearing what she had last night but Annabelle was exceptionally smart and was well loved by her entire family, if anyone could pull through from something like that it’d be her, I was sure of it.

  “And I owe you an apology.”

  Pulling free from Annabelle, I turned around to face the sister I was most dreading: Gabriella. But instead of seeing her face plastered with a mean sneer, the girl looked uncomfortable. “I’m sorry for everything I said to you. It almost killed me to see my brother that way and if I’d known that was going to happen, I wouldn’t have said anything.” Gabriella’s gaze dropped to the ground for a moment before lifting back to me. “I shouldn’t have said anything at all, and I’m thankful my family didn’t fall apart last night. I’m also grateful you were there to help him, Evangeline. My family means everything to me and I can now see how much you mean to Ryan. Please take good care of him.”

  “I can’t begin to imagine what you went through, Gabriella. It was a brave thing you did protecting your family. And I don’t hate you for acting the way you did last night, you had every right to be cautious,” I replied giving her an honest smile. That was the truth.

  A small smile crept up on her face and the next thing I knew she was hugging me. I wasn’t sure how to react at first, unsure whether to hug her back or not. I definitely wasn’t expecting the gesture but eventually I hugged her back.

  “Ready, Evie?” Our embrace was cut short when we both looked up to find Ryan and Serafina making their way over to us.

  “Just give me a chance to say goodbye to this beautiful, young lady first, Ryan.” Serafina reached for me and took hold of my wrist, pulling me over to her. She threw me into her arms and kissed both my cheeks. “My son couldn’t have found a more perfect woman if he tried,” she whispered softly into my ear. “I thank you from the bottom of my heart, Evangeline. Whatever you did, it worked. Seeing the look on his
face this morning is something I’ve waited so long to see. He’s finally happy.” Taking a small step back, she held my face between her hands and reached up to kiss me once more on the forehead. “Take care of yourself dear. I won’t see you at the games this weekend but you are welcome back here any time you hear?”

  “Okay, Ma. You can let go of her now,” Ryan teased.

  Serafina pulled a face but let me go and turned around to face her son with her hands on her hips. I couldn’t help but let out a laugh. Ryan was on the ground beside Gabriella and Annabelle, playing with Duke. “I want her back here again soon, okay, son?”

  Ryan stood up and locked eyes with me. The tall, fierce, rock-solid male I knew well was still standing there, but Serafina was right; there was something different about him. It was as if finally revealing his dark past to somebody had freed something inside of him. Whatever it was, it made him more attractive… more irresistible. God help me, it’s just what I need.

  Ryan winked, snapping me out of my little daydream, before responding to his mom. “Anything for you, Mamma. But we really have to hit the road, so stop fussing over my girlfriend, will you?”

  I felt my jaw drop to the ground. Did he just say that?

  “I knew it! I knew it!” Annabelle squealed while the other sisters laughed.

  Serafina clapped her hands excitedly and raced towards her son, grabbing both his cheeks and planting kisses on them. “Ma! Jeez, you’re embarrassing!” He chuckled, trying to pull away from her.

  “I love you so much, figlio. You make me so proud,” she replied grinning.

  Eventually, we were able to get away. We drove most of the way in a comfortable silence with my hand resting on the center console entwined with Ryan’s. Not once did he let go, using one hand on the steering wheel to make turns. Even though I had so much to say to him, so many questions to ask, I was willing to wait. I didn’t want anything to ruin the moment. So instead, we spoke a little about the upcoming game against the Red Sox and how he’d already reserved tickets before asking me to go because he wanted me there and wasn’t going to take no for an answer. Surprise, surprise. All I had to do was collect the tickets from the box office at the stadium.

  I decided on going. After all, if we were going to make it work, I had to be supportive.

  We arrived back at my apartment a little after lunch. Ryan was rushing for time, so I asked him to drop me off out the front of my apartment building.

  With a quick kiss and a warning that I better be at the game, I watched Ryan drive off into the New York traffic.

  ****

  It was great to finally be alone. Even though I found that I was oddly missing Ryan’s company already, last night’s events were a lot to process. I had my own issues to try and get through, was it safe to pile Ryan’s on top of that? Could we really be able to help each other? Why was I suddenly second-guessing myself? And why was I so damn hungry? Granted it was past lunchtime and I hadn’t eaten since the morning, but after Serafina cooked up a huge breakfast, I didn’t think I’d need to eat until late afternoon.

  I made my way towards the kitchen and stopped in front of the pantry. Having a quick look inside, I decided it was going to have to be a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I was too hungry to be bothered to cook up anything special.

  To make sure I was completely satisfied, I decided on making myself three sandwiches and had just made my way into the living room when I heard my cell chime.

  Taking the top sandwich with me and placing the dish carrying the rest on the coffee table, I raced towards my handbag where my phone was inside.

  The text was from Con. Are you alive sister? I need to talk to you. Call me when you get this.

  I took a quick bite and dialed his number. He answered on the first ring.

  “Finally,” he muttered dryly.

  I couldn’t help but chuckle. “I’m sorry, Con! Last night was sort of… crazy.”

  “Err…crazy? Is everything okay? Did he do something?”

  I rolled my eyes and ripped another bite from my sandwich. Trust Connor to immediately turn into ‘protective brother’ mode. Although I loved my brother and I shared almost everything with him, I couldn’t tell him about what happened. He’d completely flip out and go on about how I shouldn’t be with someone like that. Not only that, but it was Ryan’s secret to share and I couldn’t betray him like that. “He hasn’t done anything, calm down. His family was just very entertaining and I wasn’t left with much time alone.” I decided to leave out the part where one of his sisters hated my guts for most of my stay.

  “Alright, well tell me all about it on Monday.”

  “What’s Monday?”

  “The reading of the will is Monday morning at the office. Think you can separate yourself from lover-boy for just a couple of hours and squeeze this in? It’s rather important.”

  “Oh. Ha. Ha,” I replied wryly. “In fact, my boyfriend will be busy training, so I’m sure it won’t be a problem.”

  “Evie…” he started in a warning tone, “Are you sure that’s the kind of guy you want to give your heart to? You know about his reputation, what makes you think he’s going to be faithful to you? And the cameras are going to follow―”

  “The cameras are going to follow me no matter what, but I love him, Connor. I’m not going to be stupid to think that he won’t ever hurt me but I’m willing to take that risk. There’s more to him than what everyone sees…”

  Connor was silent for a moment then let out a defeated sigh. “I’m just worried about you.”

  “I know but I’m an adult, I can make my own decisions.”

  “There are plenty of men out there but you choose to fall in love with New York’s most notorious womanizer,” he muttered.

  “Just give him a chance, that’s all I’m asking.”

  He didn’t say anything but I knew deep down my brother would at least try. So God help Ryan if he screwed up; behind the designer suits and professional exterior, my brother knew how to throw a punch.

  I looked down and noticed my sandwich was gone. Walking back into the living room, I picked up another sandwich and sat myself down on the sofa. Connor and I continued talking for a few more minutes before he said he had to go and finish up some paperwork. Jeez, that guy never stopped.

  I ate the rest of the sandwiches then typed a quick text to Derek to ask if he was free to hang out for the afternoon. While I waited for a reply, I put the phone on the table, stretched out on the sofa and closed my eyes.

  The next thing I knew I was waking up to a darkened room, feeling groggy and with a stiff neck. Shoot! I gasped realizing I’d fallen asleep and snatched up my phone. I had five text messages and a missed call.

  The missed call and three of the messages were from Derek.

  The first one reading: Hey, sexy features! Yes!! I’m free. Just finishing up at the nail salon, I’ll be there in twenty.

  Then: Do you want to get your door or not?

  Followed by: What the hell? So you aren’t answering your door OR your cell. Is everything alright? PLEASE call me!

  The last two messages were both from Ryan: Can’t wait to see you watch a real man’s sport, babe. Look for the delicious piece of meat standing on the pitcher’s mound. I love you. Xx

  P.S It feels great writing that. I love you. I love you. I love you. I fucking love you!!!

  His second message made me laugh but my laugh was cut short once I noticed the time. It read: 7.15PM. Shit! That meant I had less than ten minutes to get ready if I wanted to try and make it to Yankee Stadium before the game started.

  I rushed into my room and threw on some jeans and the first navy blue and white top I could find. Grabbing a matching tailored, three-quarter jacket, ballet flats, and throwing some make-up essentials into my bag, I left my apartment in record time.

  I hailed the first cab I spotted and quickly began applying some make-up to my face and tied my hair into a messy ponytail while humorously wondering what my fashion followers
were going to say about the rushed look.

  I arrived at Yankee Stadium fifteen minutes late. That was one thing I despised about New York: the traffic. I collected my ticket and went in search of my seat.

  An uneasy feeling formed in the pit of my stomach and spread throughout my body as I took in my surroundings. The stadium was huge, filled with a sea of people dressed in Yankees colors with a few scattered red dots among them. The crowd cheered and chanted whiles some people walked around and others stood impatiently in the food and beverage queues.

  I was grateful when a security guard came up and asked if I was lost. I showed him my ticket and he kindly escorted me over to the right area and then eventually to my seat. I was thankful when I spotted Ryan’s three sisters before I had the chance to answer the guards questions about whether I was a wife or a girlfriend of one of the players and which one. I wasn’t ashamed to be with Ryan, I was just wary of giving out that kind of information to anyone I didn’t know.

  “Yay, you made it!” Annabelle squealed when I sat down at the empty seat beside her.

  The other two sisters turned and smiles lit up their faces as they recognized me.

  “I’m sorry I’m late. I fell asleep,” I said apologetically to them. “I think I might be coming down with something.”

  “You look exhausted. Perhaps you are?” Gabriella noted.

  “Gabby! Really?” Chiara scowled, nudging her with her elbow.

  “What?” Gabriella said to her older sister with a smirk on her face. “She still looks great. Just run down, that’s all.” She gave a shrug then looked out towards the field.