I didn’t care, though. I could figure it out, and with Brian to help me, I was starting to make sense of everything. I was just relieved that I had them all back. The relationship I’d had with Brian had been one of a kind, and losing it for that long had been a shame. I couldn’t imagine the pain Brian must have felt, thinking it was gone forever.
It must have been almost like a death to him, except I had still been alive and well and able tell him off.
Now that I knew everything, I understood it. I understood why he hadn’t wanted to let me go, why he’d been willing to settle for even just friendship eventually.
I would have done the same.
“How are you feeling?” Brian asked.
We stood on the rock where it had all happened.
“I don’t know,” I answered. “It’s a mix.”
Part of me remembered that night together, the prom after party, the alcohol, the sex. It had felt like our lives had stretched out before us, and we could become anything we wanted to.
Part of me remembered waking up in hospital and asking about a project I had done two years earlier that was still due in my mind. It was when they’d realized something serious was wrong.
It was a weird combination, remembering what I’d forgotten and the memory loss at the same time.
“We can go,” Brian said.
He put his hand on the small of my back, there for support and stability. I loved how he had become my strength, my security, my protector.
I shook my head. “No, I don’t want to go. This rock has become so significant.”
I chuckled at the thought that a rock could become such a big deal. And also at the follow up thought that this really shouldn’t be any laughing matter, but everything seemed funny and good when I was with Brian.
Brian smiled when I looked at him. He didn’t say much, but I knew he understood.
Since I remembered everything, we were back together. It was like nothing had changed, as if five years between the accident and the rush of memories had never happened for us. We were just as in love as we used to be in high school.
At the same time, everything had changed. Where we’d been kids back then, dreaming about a future that was still to be explored, we were living the lives we’d dreamed up for ourselves. We were adults. We could be together now the way we used to dream about.
Everything felt like a double life to me, the images in my mind overlapping unless I ran through a timeline for myself. But no matter what I thought about and how it felt, Brian was there through all of it. He was there for me, understanding and kind.
When I had mood swings, he tolerated me. When I was freaking out, he made me feel safe. When I was deliriously happy, he shared in my joy. Never was there a more patient man.
“Sometimes, it still feels weird,” I said. “Sometimes, it feels like yesterday we were getting ready for prom. Literally. And sometimes, it feels like it’s so long ago I can barely remember what dress I wore.”
Brian nodded. “Well, I guess it’s a bit of both. Your memories are fresh. The event isn’t anymore.”
I nodded. “We’ve managed to do it all, though. We did everything we said we wanted to do. I mean, I’m a cheerleading coach because I was good at it in school, and I’m going to start that gym. And you’re a pro player, just like you said you wanted to be. Even if we were pulled apart, we still followed our dreams.”
Brian nodded. “It’s those dreams that pulled us together.”
I blinked at him.
“If you hadn’t become a coach, even if you didn’t remember how great you used to be at cheerleading, you would never have ended up on the training field where I saw you again.”
He was right.
I turned and looked toward the ocean. It was one of those days that felt like I could see into the distance forever. The air was clear and fresh, and a light breeze tugged at my hair and the summer dress I was wearing. The sound of the ocean, constantly crashing onto the shore, was calming. It was the sound of happiness and home.
Brian put his arms around me, and we stood together for a while, just staring out at the sea. My mind ran through that night again.
“Not everything worked out the way we planned it,” Brian said. “At least, not yet.”
I looked at him.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Well,” Brian took a deep breath. “We always said we would spend our lives together. Soul mates, remember?”
I smiled and nodded. “Right. Soul mates. But we found each other.”
Brian nodded. “Yeah, you’re right.”
He cleared his throat and dropped to his knee. I stared at him.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
He pulled a little blue box from his pocket. Opening it up, he revealed a shiny silver ring with a large diamond on top.
“I want to spend my life with you,” he said. “Officially. I love you just as much as I did six years ago. Without you, life has been so empty. I hate what happened to you so long ago in this place, but I love that we have been brought back together and that we have come back here to conquer our fears together, to start fresh with everything that awaits us every morning when we wake up together. Sadie Anderson, will you marry me?”
I clapped both my hands to my mouth.
“You’re proposing?” I asked through my fingers.
Brian grinned. “Looks like it,” he said.
I was suddenly crying, tears spilling onto my cheeks out of nowhere. I nodded and held out my left hand so he could slip the ring onto my finger.
“Oh, my God,” I said. It fit perfectly, a large diamond set among smaller stones lined up along the silver band, all of which glittered as I moved my hand. “Of course, I’ll spend the rest of my life with you.”
Brian stood up and hugged me. He held me against him.
“I’m so glad to have you back,” he said.
He pulled away and kissed me. His mouth was hot on mine, warmth radiating from his skin, creating a bubble around me against the weather. I ran my hands up his sides, and he squirmed, ticklish.
His hands wrapped around my body and pulled me against him. I felt his erection in his pants and broke the kiss, looking at him.
“For old time’s sake?” he asked.
I knew what he was asking me. I nodded. We were going to have sex on the rock the way we lost our virginity to each other way back when.
High Rock was secluded enough that we wouldn’t be spotted by anyone passing by, but the thrill of possibly being caught was still in the air. Brian kissed me again. He moved his hands, caressing my body, feeling me. He hands were on my ass, squeezing my cheeks before he slipped them around to my breasts and did the same. He spent more time on my breasts, squeezing, rubbing, kneading. My nipples were erect, straining against my bra.
Brian kneeled and pulled me down onto the rock with him. He laid me on my back and half on top of me, his body pressed against mine so that his cock was pressed against my hip through his pants. He kissed me again. His hand was on my cheek, and he slowly slid it down my neck. The slow movement made me ache for more.
His hand moved down my chest, his fingers lifted the dress, and he slipped his hand underneath the material. His fingers pushed into my bra, and he tugged on my nipple until I moaned.
We were in public so we couldn’t get naked, but Brian was turning me on just as much without us removing our clothes.
I reached down and rubbed him through his pants. His breathing sped up, and I knew I was doing it right. He moved his hips, grinding himself against my hand.
I was wet. I could feel it pooling in my panties. As if Brian knew what I was thinking, he slid his hand up my leg, abandoning my breasts for now, and moved underneath my skirt.
The night after prom, when we’d done it right here, I’d also been wearing a skirt. The coincidence was striking.
I didn’t have a lot of time to think about that. Brian pulled my panties to the side and pushed his fingers into me
. I made sure my dress was down over his hand so that it wasn’t too suspicious, but I couldn’t think straight.
I gasped as he fingered me, his fingers fighting my panties as he probed me.
I kissed him, my tongue in his mouth, and he tasted of lust and love.
Brian made a growling sound at the back of his throat.
“I can’t stand it anymore,” he said.
He pulled my hand away from his cock and undid his own pants, pulling himself free. He didn’t pull down his jeans, only let himself out through his fly.
He got onto me, his stiff cock bobbing with the movement. I pushed my hand into his pocket and found a condom. I had started the pill since condoms weren’t always safe, but I wouldn’t be safe for another two weeks, so we made sure we always had one handy. I made quick work of getting the condom out and onto his cock.
He rolled onto me, moving in under my dress, and I opened my legs for him.
Brian didn’t hesitate before he pushed into me, and I was so wet he slid in with ease. I gasped. No matter how often we did it, and we did it a lot lately, I would never get used to the size and the feel of him.
Brian started moving, pushing in and pulling out. He looked around to check that we were alone, but the beach around us was deserted, and the rocks around us gave us enough cover.
He bucked his hips harder. The rock was hard beneath my back, but I didn’t care. I was focused on Brian, his cock inside me, and the rhythm he built.
We didn’t have time for positions and delaying orgasms. This was going to be a quickie. Brian pumped into me harder and harder, my legs spread wide on either side of him.
An orgasm built inside of me, born out of the thrill of doing it here, the memories I had now, and Brian’s love for me. Heat filled me up, and it didn’t take long before I spilled over the edge, coming undone at the seams. I cried out, and a moment later, Brian released inside me.
We came together, in sync, and my body tugged at his cock, milking him as it squeezed tightly around his shaft. I felt him jerk inside me. His body pressed down on mine, and I could feel his heart hammering against my own chest.
We were both breathing hard. He looked me in the eyes, and what I saw there was love and nothing else.
When he was done, he pulled out. I fixed my panties. He got rid of the condom, pushing it into the foil packet to discard later. When he zipped up, there was no proof that we had done anything other than our cheeks being flushed and our labored breathing.
Brian helped me up and kissed me on the forehead. He held on tightly to me. This time, he wasn’t going to let me veer near the edge or let me go, even though I wasn’t drunk and nothing would happen to me again.
He lifted my hand to his lips and kissed my knuckles.
“I love you,” he said.
“I love you, too.”
He smiled, and we made our way across the rocks back to where we had parked. We were getting married! And everything was perfect, the way I had always dreamed it would be.
I couldn’t wait to plan the wedding. Lorraine would be my Maid of Honor, of course. Perhaps Lacey and Kina would want to be my bridesmaids. I’ve hung out with them a lot since cementing my relationship with Brian. And Liam would make the perfect little groomsman.
I’d recently got in touch with my former best friend from high school, Breanna. She was happy to hear that I was all right, after I had cut her out of my life after the accident.
I explained to her that I shouldn’t have done that but I was confused and it was easier to leave the past behind me. I hadn’t even known who she was. She understood, and said she couldn’t wait to see me. I hoped she would come to the wedding, as well as my parents of course, and my entire cheerleading team.
This was going to be epic. The wedding of the century. Of course, being the bride to be, I would think that, but I bet everyone might agree with me, at least on my big day.
Just like on that fateful night nearly six years ago, I felt like a princess. And I was about to feel like a queen, since I was marrying a guy fit to be king.
When we got into the car, Brian looked at me. His eyes were still hungry, even though he’d come.
“How about we take this further at home?” he asked.
A shiver ran through my body. I nodded.
“I’d love to.”
Brian smiled, a look crossing his face. It was the look of a man who knew exactly what he was going to get. He pulled into the road, and we drove back home, ready to live the rest of our lives together.
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A Sneak Peek into Don’t Stand So Close: A Brother’s Best Friend Romance
The third book in the Don’t Series featuring the Florida Sharks football players!
She's back in my life, and I want her in my bed.
When she was in pigtails, I was her brother's best friend.
Now she's all grown up, with gorgeous curves to prove it.
Her new job is to clean up my image,
but the things I want to do to her are filthy.
Her brother- now my enemy- would kill me for touching her,
so what would he do if I f*ck her?
Screw it.
I'll touch what I want, consequences be damned...
unless one of them is my heart.
* Don't Stand So Close is a full length standalone steamy romance novel with no cliffhanger, no cheating and a happily ever after. It features a bad boy athlete and the curvy heroine with whom he falls in love.
Click here to read Don’t Stand So Close: A Brother’s Best Friend Romance
Chapter 1
Jacob
I needed to get laid. I was on a mission tonight.
Some might say I have been on a lot of missions lately: I had just hooked up with a girl last night, who had been super into me. After it was done, she asked me for my autograph, and I thought, if that’s all she wants after that blowjob she just gave me, that’s a pretty good deal for me.
But tonight, I was on the prowl yet again. And I didn’t think anyone could blame me. I hadn’t had an easy time of it lately, so I’d needed the release. I’d needed to find a random stranger to lose myself in for a little bit. Tonight, I need one bad . I just wasn’t sure I’d find one here .
Batting Cage Sports Bar was exactly the kind of place I didn’t think any of the Florida Sharks football players would go for a night out. It wasn’t the nicest place I’ve been to—although the vibe was great and the alcohol was cheap—but Hanson and Brian insisted on going there.
I didn’t really get a say though. Since I’d been traded from the San Antonio Bullriders back to the Sharks, I hadn’t been around the local nightclub scene much and didn’t know where else to suggest. So, Batting Cage it was.
The place was overwhelmingly drab brown in color, with wooden tables and chairs with leather patent leather seats, raw brick walls, and television screens all around to watch whatever games were showing. Neon lights in the roof above the bar gave it a very distinct feel.
But to my surprise, as soon as I sat down with the boys and we each had a beer in front of us, I began to feel glad that we had come to Batting Cage. We were among the public, the guys who came to watch our games, not the guys playing with or against us, and it made me feel normal for a change.
God knew it had been a long time since I’d felt normal.
I sipped my beer, slowly. We couldn’t get too drunk—we had training every day
during the training season, and I had it worse than the others. I had been suspended for a full season, and my fitness wasn’t what it should have been. Getting suspended for your personal life becoming a public debacle makes you fucking despondent, which was exactly what I was.
I had come to Miami hoping everything would be different. I had a bad name after I had assaulted another player during a game—what would you do if the other player told you he’d fucked your girlfriend?—and I’d been benched for the whole season. When it came time to get back into the game again, it had been easier for management to trade me off.
Did I feel betrayed, rejected, replaced?
Yes.
But I got to come home. I had grown up just outside Miami. I’d studied at the University of Miami and played ball for them before the Bullriders had scouted me.
Being back in Miami was supposed to feel better than it did, though. Instead of feeling like I was home again, I felt like an outsider, rejected by the team I was supposed to play with, shunned by all the football fans and without any friends left in the city after I’d been away for so long, and after everyone had branded me as a pariah for my past sins.
I guess they expected me to come crawling back with my tail between my legs. But I wasn’t the crawling or begging type. I was more of the fist-pounding, “I am a successful football player, hear me roar” type.
My stance had always been that my new team mates could take me—flaws and all—or leave me. So far, it seemed they had mostly chosen to leave me. Still, there was time for them to see the light.
It was only training season. They had time to get to know me and love me before the real season started. Since people have told me I have a strange fucking charm about me, so I was sure that my teammates would see it too. Not to mention that they’d see how I play on the field, which is like a total fucking legend.
I looked at Brian and Hanson bantering back and forth over their beer. They were tight, and it was easy to tell. They two of them were the most well known duo on the team. The players all had friends, but I got the idea these two were really close outside of football as well. The kind of players that got together with their respective partners and had barbeques on weekends. Hanson was always talking about how much his wife Lacey loved Brian’s fiancée, Sadie.
Their Protector: An MC Outlaw Halloween Romance Page 134