Matthias got swarmed by reporters Sylvia was sure Simone had set up. Langston came into the box and took Sylvia away. With Leslie in tow, they pushed through to the locker room. When Matthias finally came up the tunnel in the middle of a crowd of people, he took over holding onto Sylvia and they kept moving, leaving Leslie and Langston behind.
“What’s going on?” she questioned.
Matthias never stopped as he turned down a corner to a door. Two security guards opened them, but blocked the following crowd.
“Oh, woman,” he growled as his salty lips found hers.
Pressed against the cold concrete wall Sylvia became lost in the feel of his warm sweat covered body against hers.
“Come on.” With their hands locked, he pulled her down the narrow hallway to a random door in the middle.
A quick turn of a handle and they entered what appeared to be a small apartment. She’d heard rumors he’d put in a place to stay when the weather got bad, but since they’d never been there she assumed it was just that, a rumor. The room had a musty smell and she could tell he hadn’t used it since before they got together. Inside was a queen size bed, night stand, and dresser. There was a plasma screen on the wall and a half bath. The basics.
“I need you,” he groaned as his dark eyes devoured her soul.
Never had she seen a hunger come from him as he stripped her down in a matter of seconds. The adrenaline of the game was still coursing through both their bodies as she met his need with her own. She wanted every muscular inch of him as they locked into a battle of discovery of each other as if every inch of the other’s skin was a new uncharted territory. Biting at his nipple he reared back as the flavor of his sweat-laden flesh danced on her tongue.
Sylvia had dreamed of the rushed passion that came after a win, but between press conferences and hiding their relationship, she’d never been able to have the immediate satisfaction. Blood rushed through her veins as he laid her on the bed and began teasing the soft folds between her thighs. Initial nibbles on her neck made her already raised skin flash between fire and ice as he fought his way to her core.
The thrust inside her made her back arch into his tight, muscular frame that should have been exhausted, but instead was still in game mode. Hard, penetrating, and unstoppable. Their flesh warmed to the point of scorching as he claimed her body as the trophy he’d always wanted. The moans couldn’t escape their fused together mouths, each needing to taste the other as they rolled in a bed several inches shorter than the one at home. Somehow they didn’t notice. It could have been that they clung to each other as if letting go would cause them to fall into an abyss and they needed the strength of the other to survive.
Waves overtook Sylvia as her climax rippled up and down her body. The apex of the orgasm clung to Matthias’ hard shaft deep inside. There was no fear or uncomfortable strangeness. Instead it was just her fulfilling a primal need of not only him, but herself. As he shuddered and released into her body she accepted the love he gave as he licked along the column of her neck coming to rest at the base of her jaw.
“Best…post game…ever.”
“Why have you never shown me this marvelous place before?”
“No reason.” He rolled off of her and discarded what she assumed was a condom into the trash. “Fuck. I just want to stay in here holding you.”
“Why can’t you?” Sylvia queried as she rolled into his arms and let her fingers dance along his sternum.
“I need to get to the press conference. You want in on the shower with me?”
“Again, why have you never taken me to this magical place before?”
“Stupidity, because this is the way I should have handled every win.”
“Even the blow outs.”
“No.” he stood and walked into the bathroom to turn on the water. “Those wouldn’t have been as much fun. Shower?”
“I better not. I have a feeling you’ll stay in there too long if I get in.”
“Smart woman.”
Matthias did leave the door open and Sylvia enjoyed the view as he washed himself in the glassed-in shower. He winked a few times, especially while taking care of his delicate bits. She stayed wrapped in the blanket enjoying the view as they discussed the game and all its aspects.
“Hey Silly, are you on the pill at all?”
“No, I haven’t really had time to go to the doctor. Did you want me on it?”
“I was just thinking about it. I’m clean and I think I’ve proven you’re the only one I’m with.”
“I’ll make an appointment after my finals. Is it okay if we stick with the condoms for a month?”
Matthias cleared the steam off of the glass and their eyes locked.
“Yes. I’m used to them. I do want to really feel you against me. Don’t you?”
Sylvia dropped the blanket, which pooled around her hips as she rose and went toward the shower. Matthias opened the shower door with a smile and welcomed her into the warm spray.
“I shouldn’t have come in here should I?”
“No.”
A knock made them both grimace as they heard the door unlock and heavy footsteps approached.
“Stop, Langston, or you’re fired,” Matthias barked. “The bathroom door is open, give me a second and I’ll be out.”
With a gentle caress Matthias exited the shower and wrapped a towel around his lean hips. Sylvia could tell the rush was over by his gait and the stiffness setting in on his joints. Ice, a good rubdown, and a dozen or so ibuprofen and he’d be back to fighting form. People had no idea the pounding player’s bodies took every night. When he closed the door she finished showering and by the time she was done, the little room was empty. Turning on the TV she watched the press conference as she got dressed and was only interrupted for a second when Leslie was finally brought back to the room with her.
“So this is where you vanished too. Come here often?”
“Not often enough,” she sighed as her aches reminded her of the best sex she’d ever experienced.
“Oh really. Freshly showered and sitting in a room that smells of cheap sex after a playoff win. Oh how Sylvia has blossomed.”
“I didn’t calculate the bill yet.”
“But he took it to the hole huh…my little girl is all grown up.”
Sylvia smacked her friend in the face with a pillow and they both fell out laughing.
* * * *
Matthias never expected to sail through the next two rounds of the playoffs like he did. With Silly at his side everything came easier. She’d wrap his ankles before each game, have ice packs ready at home or in the hotel room when they traveled, and her rubdowns made every pounding minute of play on his body disappear. She’d rotate his joints to work out the stiffness and each night laying in her arms had more healing properties than a team of doctors could provide.
Spending their days studying his game film and her the last of her final two classes, they balanced each other in a way Sharee never had. With Sharee it’d always been about the next deal and how he could position himself here or there, but Silly seemed to only care about making him better for himself, not for the rest of the world.
He’d truly found a soul mate in her. She didn’t want anything from him. Their fights were minimal and not because she didn’t challenge him, but because the way she went about meeting him and raising him up. There never was a doubt in her mind that he could do something and as they ended each night, he thanked God for bringing her into his life.
With the finals now a few days away, he really needed to focus and she sensed that and kept her distance. Between the promo shots and Simone’s constant last minute press issues, the last thing he needed was Silly nagging him that she wasn’t getting enough time.
“Langston,” Matthias said as they rode in the limo to the local TV station to tape a promo for TNT. “I need you to bring me Anton Najym and keep it on the DL, okay?”
“What do you want him to bring you?”
“Rings.�
��
“You serious?”
Anton Najym was a high-end jeweler to the stars. He didn’t have a store. He was known to create some of the most sought after pieces so he didn’t need a storefront. People would call and he’d fly with whatever they were looking for and set up a private showing. Matthias wanted the best and Najym was just the man for the job. Langston had called him more than once for Sharee for earrings, necklaces, and a dozen other bobbles over the years, but a ring could only mean one thing and Matthias wanted the best for his Silly Girl.
“Yes. Don’t tell anyone. I need at least a dozen to choose from. Simple designs. Nothing gaudy and ostentatious. My girl is simple elegance. Tell him that.”
“Rings have sizes, you know hers?”
“Fuck. I didn’t think about that. Ask Simone to find out somehow, but she can’t say a word.”
“She’s kept the whole relationship under wraps I’m sure this wouldn’t be an issue. You got a price range?”
Matthias scoffed at Langston who was already texting someone to get the process started.
“Send him a shot of my sculpture. I want him to have a vision to work from.”
“It’s really happening isn’t it?”
“Did you doubt?”
“The hiding shit got annoying, but I guess not. She’s been your boo since day one.”
“It’s crazy, right? I need to focus on the finals and all I can think about is setting up house.”
“Don’t let it f-up your game.”
“Never…Silly’d kick my ass if I did.”
“She is down for you like four flat tires.”
“The part I don’t get is she never wants anything, just me. God I love that girl.”
Simone met them at the studio and started prepping him for some unknown reason. It was just a damn promo with him saying N, B, A that would get mixed in with a few other players from the other team. Finally there was a speech they were going to mix everyone together so it flowed, but each person had to recite the whole thing.
For some it will only happen once. With seven tries at greatness we step on the court. Determined to give the last drop of sweat from our body. We will push, drive, and never give up until the last whistle is blown.
He was sure that until the last would be repeated by at least three players to emphasize the meaning. It was a stupid copy and so were the three other lines and finally Only on TNT. Blah blah…he was so damn tired of promos. Simone was irritated as she tried to make sure he was first for everything with the Emperors.
“It’s not a big deal,” he groaned.
“You’re the goddamn franchise, Matthias, it is a big deal. If it wasn’t for you, this team would be sucking it in last place. You need to stop rolling over for those that are less than you.”
“Who am I rolling over for? I’m just not in a damn rush.”
“You’re not. Isn’t Sylvia waiting for you?”
“Not that I know of. She went shopping with her friend Leslie.”
“Oh that one. If you go public that one’s going to need to go.”
“If? Silly and I are going public. Very public.”
“Right. I got the text from Langston about Anton. Congratulations. I still say it’s a PR disaster, but hey, that’s why you have me to clean up your mess.”
“How is marrying the woman I love a disaster?”
“It’s not.” Simone walked away to talk to someone behind the camera and Matthias took off
his warm up for a few more shots.
****
“Ugh,” Sylvia growled as she tried to button a pair of jeans. “Seriously? I have barely any time to eat and still I gain weight.”
“What are you griping about now, Sylvia?” Leslie called from the next room.
“My fat ass…what else? Frickin’ road food.”
“I bet Matthias isn’t complaining about your ass.”
“Please grab me the next two sizes up.”
“Maybe if you ask me nicely.”
“I said please, you know that’s almost my limit of sweetness right now.”
“Since when, Sylvia?” Leslie asked through a crack in the door. “Why are you Miss Pissy
Pants?”
“I don’t know.” Sylvia opened the door so her friend could come in and sit on the bench in the room. “We’ve been together six months now and it’s great. He’s so used to having someone take care of him and I don’t know if I’m not doing it right or—”
“Or what? What makes you think you’re doing something wrong?”
“He’s never told me he loved me. And I know what you said about a full tank of gas and taking out the trash, but what if I’m a good luck charm or…another groupie to him that he likes to screw.”
“You think he’d move a jersey chaser into his home?”
“What if I’m not enough?”
“You’re enough. You’re amazing. He sees that or he wouldn’t have you living with him.”
“Maybe I should have kept my own place. He’s so nice and I’m sure he’d never kick me out, but what if Simone is right, that I’m killing his rep?”
“Okay, for starters what if Simone is right? Never say that again. That woman is never right,
about anything. What she thinks the public wants and what they really want are two different things. She knows the stupid crap that gets a person’s name in the media for a flash, not the things that get them immortalized. There is no way you’re hurting him.”
“What about that basketball tournament when I blurted out that he was in the building?”
“A kid was injured on the floor and no one would listen to you. You saved that child a lot of
pain and suffering and got him a Matthias Jessup autograph. Please, how did that hurt him?”
“No one noticed us and Matthias was having so much fun just watching the kids play without being mobbed. And my big ass mouth had to yell Matthias make them listen to me.”
“They did, didn’t they?”
“Sure, after I alerted three gyms worth of youth basketball players and fans that the biggest star in the area was sitting there.”
“I’m still not getting it. Explain it to me like I’m a six-year-old. What damage have you done?”
“People almost found out about me.”
“So. Why are you Eve to his Adam? Have you ever questioned that? Was it always this way or just when Simone arrived?”
“Simone came a few days after me so I wouldn’t know the difference, but I don’t think so. She’s saved him so many times. You should have seen her in Vegas.”
“Stop doubting yourself and tell me what size to grab.”
“Twenty-eight.”
“I should smack you across that size two ass of yours.”
“Ten or twelve. I don’t know.”
“You’re hard to love sometimes.”
“You don’t know how to make brioche.”
“That’s hurts, deep down that really hurts.”
Sylvia stood in the dressing room examining her hips and ass in the mirror, then decided to pull on a short-sleeved sweater she’d found. Pulling it over her head her breasts ached as she brushed them with the tight fabric. Great, she thought, even her chest was getting bigger. Then she remembered that sensation. It’d been over a decade, but the annoyance was the same. Tender breasts, tight pants and…her hand passed over her stomach.
“You okay? You look greenish blue.”
“I’m fine, you know me, Matthias fantasies.”
“You do realize now you can make them realities.”
“Sometimes. So, the fat pants.”
“You do know these are my size,” Leslie growled.
“Right the phat with the ph…you know, Pretty Hot and Tempting.”
“Bad save.”
* * * *
The first two games were played in KC and ended up one to one. Sylvia performed after every loss and Matthias responded with a win the next game. If this kept up they’d end up winning the cha
mpionship in KC in game seven.
“I think you lose just for nights like this,” Sylvia teased after the game six loss.
Matthias stroked back a few strands of hair behind Sylvia’s ear, then cradled her head in his hands. His nose nuzzled hers as he lightly pecked her lips.
“It’s a theory. You know how important you are to me right?”
“I’m your lucky rabbit’s foot.”
“Is that why I’m always rubbing you?”
“Speaking of rubbing, rollover or even my magical mystical powers won’t be able to save the game in a few days.”
Sylvia massaged Matthias’ hamstring and worked her way down his long legs to his feet and ankles, then made her way back up the other leg. By the time she had returned to his hips, he was unconscious and that was fine with Sylvia. It had been two weeks of traveling and games with no rest in sight. Worse yet was rest wasn’t the only thing she’d missed. After getting dressed Sylvia headed out for a pregnancy test.
When she returned Matthias was up and in the kitchen.
“Where’d you go?”
“I couldn’t sleep, so I went out to get some PM medicine.” She held the pharmacy bag up. “Why are you up?”
“I got cold.” He rested against the counter and sipped a sports drink. “Silly, I really need to focus for the next few days. I need you to be my rock. I can’t take any disruption in my schedule right now.”
“I’m sorry, I couldn’t sleep and I didn’t want my tossing and turning to keep you up.”
“Don’t apologize, you didn’t do anything wrong, it’s just…I wouldn’t be in the finals without you.”
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