Game Changer

by Rene Folsom

  I focused on the feel of his hardness gliding in and out of me, the motion so potent and intimate… it definitely continued to send waves of pleasure through me, like my past orgasm could start again with just a simple thrust of his hips. Digging my fingernails into his flexing biceps, I watched every movement he made, studying him.

  His strong fingers grabbed my head, lacing into the loose strands around my face. In response, I brought one of my hands up and cupped his cheek, looking into his eyes a moment longer than a fly-by-night lover should. He stared back at me as his body continued to thrust into mine with gentle motions.

  What caught me off guard the most in this moment was the overwhelming urge to admit to him how much he was getting to me. On one hand, I wanted to keep my mouth shut and just have some fun. On the other hand, I wanted so badly to tear the stone walls down that protected my heart, allowing him to devour my soul so I no longer had to feel so emotionally torn. Then again, such deep feelings were completely uncalled for so early on in a relationship, if that was even what this was. After all, Sky did warn me that the man was a player. It was possible I’d be old news by this time tomorrow.

  “Maci,” he growled, and I blinked at the sound of my name, focusing on him once again and the fact he was now close.

  “Liam,” I whispered in return, following it with a moan as his thrusts began to intensify, his length swelling even more inside me as his release grew closer.

  With a few more quick stabs of his hips, Liam scrunched his eyes shut and let out a soft groan, pushing inside me and spilling himself into the latex of the condom. The weight of his body collapsing onto mine was comforting, like I could be his anchor at this overwhelming moment.

  “Fuck,” he whispered into my ear, still breathing heavily on top of me, pressing me into the plush mattress.

  I nodded. I knew he couldn’t see me, but he could definitely feel the motion of my head. Plus, I didn’t think my voice would work quite yet without my silly mouth spilling something I’d regret tomorrow. So, I just bit my lip and nodded my agreement… Fuck.

  Lifting most of his weight off me, Liam kissed me on the cheek and slowly pulled from me. While I wasn’t a huge fan of condoms, they always felt really cool when a guy pulled a full one from you after sex, the balloon-like material filled with a bit of liquid sliding out easily. Sure as hell made clean up easier for us girls.

  My body felt so relaxed, so lethargic, after Liam rolled completely off me and made his way to the bathroom. I wasn’t sure if he wanted me to stay or go, but I was pretty damn sure I wouldn’t be leaving voluntarily. At least, not now. My body would’ve likely screamed in protest if I bothered to move.

  Suddenly, a naked Liam pulling covers over my body jolted me awake.

  “Mind if I stay?” I mumbled, my words barely understandable through the hazy fog of sleep.

  “I was hoping you would,” he answered sweetly, pulling my back against his front as he held me.

  A light moan was all I could manage before a heavy slumber took over my entire body.

  *****

  Blinking rapidly, my eyes tried to adjust and assess my surroundings. A Tetris lamp glowed above my head, and I remembered I was with Liam. God, the man was like a human furnace, wrapped around me so tightly you would’ve thought the damn heat was on in his apartment.

  Sweat dripped between my cleavage, and I made quick work of sliding out from beneath him to make my way to the bathroom. I had just enough light in the room to find my clothes strewn all over the place and grab my phone. Fumbling my way across the room, I hoped I wouldn’t run into anything and wake him.

  I nearly blinded myself as I flicked the bathroom light on and eased the door shut, squinting so hard to protect my eyes, I could barely see through the tiny slits. After allowing my vision to adjust, I was able to take in my surroundings. I had been in this bathroom once before, but obviously forgot how luxurious it was, especially for a bachelor. The windows that spanned the top of one wall told me it was still dark out, but sunrise was not far behind.

  I knew the sunrise would be breathtaking out on the deck, so I hurriedly did my business and managed to freshen my mouth with some mouthwash and a finger full of toothpaste. That was perfect for the time being… it wasn’t like the sunrise could smell the rank coming from my breath anyway. Refusing to put on dirty panties, I figured commando was good enough and made quick work of getting dressed.

  Liam was still snoring soundly as I tiptoed through the room and made my way to his kitchen. Just outside his bedroom, I noticed another room I hadn’t explored in this massive, too-large-for-one-man apartment. The door was cracked, so I decided it was safe to peek in and see what he had hiding.

  I winced when the hinges creaked, worried I’d wake him with my uber-stealthy snooping abilities. Flicking the light on, I gasped. All my fears vanished as soon as I caught sight of what was inside.

  The room was completely covered from floor to ceiling with books, except for the large windows spanning one wall. It was absolutely stunning. I’d never seen someone with such a large personal library. Hell, even I didn’t have this impressive of a collection, and I was very well known as a hoarder of books in the most severe way. Liam’s setup blew my measly bookshelves out of the water—times ten.

  Still perched on the balls of my feet, I slowly stepped inside. Someone might have to send a search party after me. I could easily get lost for days in this room.

  Running my fingers lightly along the spines of the books, I took it all in. The smell, the quiet atmosphere, the lighting… it was all so intoxicating.

  Paying close attention to the various titles, I noticed they were in order by the author’s last names. Damn, I never knew anyone who actually alphabetized their books.

  Then, an idea hit me. Quickly scouring the shelves, I made my way toward the Ts, searching frantically.

  “Tanner… Teasdale… Temple… Tennyson…” I whispered, scanning over all the different collections. “Ahh, Thomas. There we are.” Picking up my novel, Celestial, I noticed it was a first edition and smiled. He’d been a fan for quite a while I’d guessed.

  Suddenly, I had an idea. Glancing around the room, I peered over the desktop that sat in the center. The massive desk was like its own island, out in the middle of a beautiful sea of literature. On top was a small cup of pens and pencils. Score.

  Grabbing all the books he had of mine, which were all the titles I currently had available to the public, I carried them over to the desk and took special care in signing each one. Who knew if he’d ever see them. Since he’d already read the books, he may never touch them again. But, if he ever did crack them open, I could only hope it would be an unexpected surprise.

  Carefully placing all the books back on the shelf, I sighed and took the room in once more, looking around at the huge collection of books. Maybe someday he’d let me explore a bit more in here. For now, I wanted to get a cup of joe and sit out on the deck.

  Thank cripes he had a Keurig. It didn’t take long for me to step out onto the deck with a steaming cup of coffee in my hands just as the sun began to peek over the buildings on the horizon.

  Tampa really was a beautiful city once you got past the rush of people blurring by. Taking the time to slow down and breathe for a second really put things into perspective.

  While glancing out at the blend of oranges, pinks, and blues reflecting off the downtown skyline, I was able to appreciate just how lucky I was with my lot in life. I had the job of my dreams as an author, lived in a great city where I could visit my grams whenever I wanted, and friends to make it all worthwhile.

  So, the feeling of emptiness and confliction right now really didn’t jive well with the rest of my life. I constantly made decisions, both small and large, every single day. Why was it so hard for me to make up my mind about Liam?

  Maybe I didn’t have any answers because I didn’t know what the questions were.

  Did I like him? Hell yeah.

  Did I want to be with him
? For sure.

  Did I need him to remember me—that he’d actually slept with me before? Kinda.

  Did I want him to know the real me? Nope. Not yet anyway. That was way too big of a decision to make over a single cup of coffee.

  Maybe I just needed time to think it over.

  And then I realized I was so right. As I stared out at the sunrise, I tried so hard to remember the words rattling around in my brain that I wanted to make note of the night before. I knew I’d forget them by sunrise.

  Chapter Twenty

  Liam: RIP Nintendo

  Waking up to an empty bed shouldn’t have surprised me, yet my stomach still leapt into my throat at the realization she was gone. She’d done it to me once before, what was stopping her from bedding and bailing again? Then again, I was hopeful for something different this time. It wasn’t like we were drunken fools at a party again. Maybe this behavior was a habit of hers—things get serious, so she runs.

  Dragging my defeated ass out of bed, I wondered how I could go from having such an amazing night to such a shitty morning. Ahh, yeah. Chicks.

  The smell of coffee piqued my interest though, and after quickly taking a piss, I grabbed a pair of boxer briefs and nearly fell over putting them on as I made my way to the kitchen. Before I could make it to my Keurig, I spotted her out on the balcony.

  “Holy shit,” I whispered. I just automatically assumed she left, so the fact she was still here shocked me to my core. She looked simply beautiful as I spied on her from behind, the sunrise seeming to make her glow.

  Tiptoeing out onto the balcony, I tried not to make a sound. She seemed lost in the moment, hunched over with her elbows on the railing, as the sky filled with light from the rising sun. My heart was still trying to catch up with the realization she had stayed, so I took a moment to just breathe before I finally spoke.

  “Morning,” I said, following with a nonchalant and rather fake yawn to try and fool her into thinking I wasn’t stalking.

  “Fuck!” she blurted out, leaning further over the railing than deemed necessary. Out of instinct, I lunged for her, grabbing her by the shoulders just in time to watch a hunk of something crash to the asphalt and splinter into a million pieces. “Oh, fuck. Oh, shit. I’m so sorry! You scared the shit out of me, and it slipped. I’m so fucking sorry!” she exclaimed while covering her eyes with both her hands like she wanted to disappear.

  I couldn’t help but laugh. “Did you take swear lessons from a sailor? And what was that?” I asked, pointing toward the parking lot below.

  “That was your DS,” she responded, never uncovering her eyes as she mumbled the answer.

  Huh. My DS was now a splintered mess of plastic shards in my complex parking lot. I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry. Feeling like she needed a bit of reassurance that I wasn’t going to toss her over the railing after it, I rubbed her shoulders and said, “Well, I guess it’s a good thing no one is up this early, or Mario might’ve given them one serious headache right about now.”

  Peeking through a few separated fingers, she looked at me wide-eyed and said, “You’re not mad?”

  “Nah,” I assured, waving my hand in front of us like it was no big deal. “I can always get another.”

  Removing her hands from her eyes, she turned to me and punched me right in the chest. “You really need to stop sneaking up on people!”

  “Ouch!” I feigned, rubbing the spot where she hit me like it hurt. She didn’t hit me hard, but just enough for me to milk it. “You don’t have to get all abusive.”

  The pout on her face was comical. Wrapping my arms around her, I placed a light kiss on her cheek to hopefully thaw away the worry and stress marring her beautiful features. It only took her a few seconds before she melded into me, snuggling her lips against my neck as I held her.

  A few minutes passed before she finally spoke, breaking the silence between us. “I need to get going. I have some deadlines that are creeping up on me.”

  I nodded, my chin resting on her head as we stared out at the bright morning. “Yeah, I have to show my face at work this morning too. Maybe we can do lunch though?”

  “Let’s just say lunches are off the agenda indefinitely. But dinner or a late-night raid might be cool.” Just as I was about to ask why lunch was a no-go, Maci pulled her phone out and read a text from someone named Sam that said, Call me when you’ve had your coffee and you’re human again. “I guess I better head out. I’ll text you a bit later,” she said before placing a light peck on my lips and backing away.

  “Good.” I smiled. “I need time to figure out how you’re going to repay me for that DS anyway,” I said, hooking my thumb in the direction of the parking lot—better known as a DS graveyard now.

  “Serves you right for sneaking up on a girl,” she responded with a wink as she turned and walked back into the apartment. I followed, not saying another word as I gave her another quick kiss and watched her leave.

  *****

  After a mind-numbing morning of business meetings and everything that doesn’t have to do with gaming, I still felt like I was on cloud nine when I entered the café in hopes of catching a glimpse of her. I hadn’t heard from her all morning, and actually had Thad hold my phone for me so I wouldn’t be tempted to text her, effectively smothering the shit out of the girl.

  I just couldn’t get her off my mind.

  I needed to see her.

  Accidentally, of course.

  To my dismay, she wasn’t at Ramon’s. Word was, she had left in a hurry just before lunchtime. Lunch. She said she would never be available at that time of day, and curiosity was beginning to burn a hole in my brain.

  Bummed I didn’t get to see her, I dragged my defeated ass back to the office and happened to run into Sky just as she was leaving for lunch.

  Oh… Sky!

  “Greetings, Earthling,” I said, darting into her path before she could bolt out of the door. She was like a damn lightning bug. Tiny and fast, disappearing before you knew which way she’d turned.

  “Sup, boss?” she asked, huffing slightly in exhaustion. She must’ve been in a hurry.

  “I see you’re on your way out, so I’ll make this quick. You’ve known Maci for a while, right?” I asked, fidgeting back and forth on my feet. I felt slightly slimy for even asking, and her reaction was well warranted.

  “Oh no. No, you don’t,” she said in refusal, backing up a few steps and waving her hands in front of her as if she had to physically stop me. “I’m not spilling the beans on anything. You two can work shit out on your own. Don’t involve the lowly muggle.”

  “It’s not like that. I just… I wanted to meet up with her for coffee and since she takes off somewhere for lunch every day, I was wondering if you knew where I could find her to maybe accidentally bump into her?” My desperation must’ve been obvious, because Sky’s defensive stance relaxed a bit.

  “Why don’t you text her?”

  Rolling my eyes, I gave her an exasperated look as I said, “I don’t want to come off as the desperate geek.”

  “Well, if the shoe fits, wear it. I don’t think I should get involved.” Her stance still stayed relaxed, but she crossed her arms over her small chest like it was her final decision. This girl didn’t know how persuasive I could be.

  “Okay,” I said, closing my eyes and taking a preparatory breath. “I’m about to tell you something, but you can’t breathe a word of it to anyone. Not even Maci.”

  “Hmm,” she hummed in thought. “It’s not like I talk to Maci on a regular basis, but if she asks, I won’t lie.”

  “Deal.” God, what was I getting myself into? I was either going to come out of this like a hero or a total douche for revealing one of Maci’s secrets.

  “Well? Spill,” she prompted, tapping her foot, her arms still crossed in defense.

  Taking another steadying breath, I had to take a few tries before the words would come out of my mouth. If this got back to Maci before I could tell her, I’d be up shit creek.<
br />
  “I slept with Maci at the New Year’s masquerade party the year before last, only I didn’t know it was her until our date last week.”

  “Ha! I knew she hooked up with some shmuck that night, but you?” Sky giggled as she absorbed this information, and I couldn’t help but crack a smile at how amused she was. “Does she know it was you? Because last I heard, she didn’t know who she’d slept with that night. Wouldn’t even give me any hits as to the costume or anything. How you two managed to bump uglies without ever exchanging pleasantries or revealing your faces must be a fucking superpower.”

  “I don’t think she realizes it’s me. If she does, she didn’t let on at all.”

  “Well, how’d you figure it out? Usually men are totally dense to this sort of thing.”

  I blushed—actually blushed—at the thought of revealing this secret to her and hoped she already knew. “Ahh… she actually has this cute little Batman tattoo on the small of her back, and I noticed it while helping her into my Jeep last week. I kinda freaked out too. It just took me so off guard.”

  “Well, that explains why she’s keeping you at an arm’s length. You can’t fuck up with her. She rarely gives second chances, Liam.”

  “Yeah, well, that’s why I want to actually tell her face to face. I don’t want to embarrass her, but fuck, that night—”

  Holding her hands up in defense, Sky abruptly stopped me mid-sentence. “Swallow your words. No need for hentai. I don’t need to know the deets.”

  “Well, can you help me out? At least tell me what she’s up to every day around lunchtime? If she has a boyfriend, I don’t need to be getting in the way.”

  “First thing I can say is, it’s not what you think. I’m not telling her secrets, but maybe you should head to the Manor Retirement Home and see for yourself.”

  My attention was abruptly caught by a voice buzzing by me, causing me to turn my head and see who flew by. “Hey, Romeo. Don’t forget about your meeting at three,” Thad hollered as he sprinted through the foyer to snag the elevator.