Her First Game

by Suzanne Hart

  “Well, it’s mine.”

  “You don’t seem to understand your place. Your job is to patch him up and send him on his way. You’re supposed to make sure the players can keep playing.”

  “Well,” I was getting tired of this interaction. There was nothing more that could be said. “I’m a doctor, just in case you didn’t realize. I took an oath. And you’re not my boss.” I shut the door in his face, feeling like I had accomplished something. I huffed out a breath, my heart still thudding from the interaction.

  ***

  Unsurprisingly, Russ wasn’t one to take no for an answer, especially not from me. By the time I was getting ready to close up shop for the day, I had been “summoned” to Chet’s office for a “meeting”. I knew that this was going to be about Collin, so I came prepared. And besides, having Chet in the room assured me that there would be someone there with whom I saw eye-to-eye. I knew he would see things my way if I had a chance to explain it properly.

  “Chet. This is a perfect example of what I was telling you about her earlier this week.”

  I blinked, taken aback at this. Had Chet been talking about me with Russ behind my back? Why hadn’t he told me about this? All the sudden, I didn’t feel so confident anymore. “What is he talking about?” I demanded.

  Chet stood up, bracing himself by putting his hands on his desk. His eyes were wide, his jaw set. It was like he wasn’t even in there. I knew at that moment that this was not going to go well. All at once, I felt like a fish out of water all over again. “W-well…”

  “Oh don’t be a sissy.”

  I cocked my head at this. Why was Chet letting Russ talk to me like that?

  “Dahlia…”

  “Dr. Waters,” I mumbled.

  “Don’t mumble, honey.” Russ sneered.

  “Chet, what is this about?”

  “The board feels like the management of the team is to be blamed for this season. That includes health management. That includes you.”

  Russ threw his hands up. “Exactly! She’s tryna bench Collin for the entire season!”

  I glanced from Russ to Chet, who now looked at me with a confused gaze. “But he’s the star running back.”

  “Isn’t that what I said?” Russ asked me.

  “He has a torn ligament, Chet.”

  “Do we usually bench players for an entire season for that?”

  Russ shook his head. “No. And the playoffs are right around the corner.”

  “He can’t play.” I pressed. “It’s not healthy. It’s not a good idea and it’s just setting the stage for a worse injury.”

  “We’ve done it this way for years girlie. You’re not gonna come in and change everything around.”

  “Well, what you’ve been doing hasn’t worked!”

  “We were performing just fine before you came along and fucked up the whole season!” He roared.

  I gasped, my eyes wide, frozen at what had just happened. I couldn’t believe that I was being reprimanded like a little girl in front of my almost boyfriend by my work colleague. I couldn’t believe that he was letting it happen.

  “You can’t possibly blame me for whatever has been going on that field.”

  But Russ just looked directly at Chet. “I will do whatever is in my power to get Colin back on that field.”

  I ducked my head in disbelief at this, glaring at Chet. “Chet! This is wrong!”

  But Chet just stood there with his hands pressed down on his desk like that, his gaze shifting from me back to Russ, nothing behind those eyes. “I’m sorry Dahlia.”

  My heart sank. I had never felt more alone in this job than I did standing in Chet’s office then. “Are you kidding me?”

  “We have to keep our best thinkers in play.”

  I bit my lip, my eyes tearing up. My vision grew blurry; everything red hot with my anger. There was no point in trying to change anything. No one believed in my cause.

  No one.

  Chet

  I felt like complete shit about that meeting with Russ and Dahlia. I had never seen her that upset, and I hated myself for being the cause of it. But the board members had been clear, the team was in peril, something had to be done. Whatever was going on in this season, it was having a direct impact on the field. The only variable, the common denominator with this new season was the new hire, Dahlia. The board had a point about that. And even though I couldn’t be sure what the right solution was, I was sure the wrong one was to do nothing.

  I wanted Dahlia to understand that, but it seemed like she didn’t even care to. She came into this job with her fantasies and her ironclad view of the world as if she knew exactly how everything should be, how everyone should act. But who was she to make those calls? She needed to be more open-minded. Why couldn’t she at least make an effort to understand this culture that she had thrust herself into? And yet, I didn’t even have a hope of talking to her to explain myself or to get the answers to these questions because she wouldn’t answer any of my calls or respond to my texts. I knew that in situations like this, I was supposed to give her space, some time to cool off or something. But when a week past by and I couldn’t get a hold of her at her work phone or cell and she managed to be mysteriously, “out” every time I went by her office, I knew I had to really do something. I hated to think that she was sitting somewhere hating me. I missed her. And I was sorry I had made her feel so terrible, whatever the reason.

  I knocked on her door on the evening of the ninth day, flowers in my hand because I assumed they had been such a hit in the past. When she opened the door, my heart soared at the sight of her. Even though she was standing there with an oversized nightshirt on and sofi shorts, with her hair tied up and her face devoid of all makeup, she was the most gorgeous thing on this planet.

  “Yes?” She crossed her arms, her eyes drifting to the flowers before settling back at my face.

  I felt so terrible for making her feel bad. “You haven’t been answering my calls.”

  “So you brought me flowers?”

  “I wanted you to know how sorry I am.”

  “For what?”

  I gazed at her, an even stare on my face. “Can I please just come in?”

  As she stared at me, her gaze softened. She stepped aside, gesturing for me to enter. When I stepped in, she shut the door behind me. I followed her down the short hallway of her one-story house. “I like what you’ve done with your place,” I said, taking in the photographs she had hung on the walls, the yellow and orange curtains in her living room, the small tree she had in her breakfast area. We walked through a small archway that led to the kitchen.

  She reached a hand out for the flowers. “It’s still not done. Not anywhere close.”

  I handed her the bouquet. “Why do you always have to do that?”

  She shot me a look as she undid the ribbon that tied them together and laid them on her off-white, marble counter. “Do what?”

  “You’re always putting yourself down.”

  She opened a cabinet and pulled a vase out. “And what? You think I should stand up for myself?”

  Her words hung in the air as it was absolutely clear to what she was referring to.

  I watched her rinse the bottom edges of the flowers before putting them in the vase. I furrowed a brow. She never ceased to surprise me. She was honestly the most interesting woman I had ever met. “You know you’re supposed to cut the bottoms off.” I said.

  She froze, glowering at me. “I don’t know why you bought me these anyway.” she said as she pulled a pair of kitchen scissors out of her drawer and started snipping off the flowers, halfway up the stalk.

  “I thought they would make you smile.”

  She frowned, the scissors dropping down into the sink. “You can’t do that.”

  I froze.

  When she looked up at me again, I saw the hurt in her face, the bags under her eyes that told me she hadn’t slept in God knows how long, the sag in her cheeks. My stomach rolled to think that I had made
her feel this way. I would give anything to take back those emotions. “You can’t come in here and act like a fucking hero for trying to cheer me up when you’re the reason I feel like shit!” she snapped.

  I stood up and rounded the kitchen island. I wrapped my arms around her, taking a whiff of her hair.

  But she wrestled her way out of my grip.

  It hurt being rejected like that.

  “You're unfair!”

  Her eyes widened as she ducked her head in disbelief. “I'm unfair? The one time you were supposed to stick up for me, you didn’t! I felt so stupid standing in your office like that.”

  I shook my head, blinking. “But my job isn’t to stand up for you.”

  She flinched, her eyes watering.

  I couldn’t understand what I had done wrong.

  “Fine.”

  “Dahlia, you have to understand. I have boundaries.”

  She glared at me. “Boundaries!? You didn’t have boundaries when you were trying to have sex with me in my office.”

  “This has nothing to do with that!”

  “This has everything to do with that! I’m just a piece of ass for you. You’re really down to be here, but then the second it requires any actual work, you’re running away. You’re not doing your job.”

  “And what is that exactly?”

  She opened her mouth to respond, but then stopped herself. “You know what, I don’t even know. You don’t want this to be something. It won’t be something.”

  I furrowed my brow. Was she breaking up with me? Over this? I felt a lump lodge itself in my throat. “What are you talking about? Of course I want it to be something.”

  “Then, why don’t you act like it?”

  “Dahlia, I want to be with you.”

  She softened at this, but I kept going anyways. I didn’t care how she would respond, I just needed her to know how much I cared about her and how much I wanted her. I needed her to trust me. “I want you more than I’ve ever wanted anything in my life. And not just your body. All of you.”

  The frown on her face disappeared and was replaced with something else. It killed me that I couldn’t quite read the expression on her face.

  “Oh God, please tell me you feel the same way.”

  She took a step towards me; her arms crossed firmly across her chest. “I do. God,” she said breathlessly, “You have no idea how much I like you. But I’m just so terrified that you’re gonna hurt me. You already have.”

  My face fell. “Dahlia, you can’t take what happens in my office personally.”

  “But I was right.”

  “But it’s not about you. There are decades of precedence. This team has been around for over half a century and my parents have owned that entire time. You are surrounded by people who grew up with this team, people who have sacrificed everything for this team. People like Russ, and me. It’s not just about you.” I approached her. I took the fact that she didn’t just try to run away from me as a good sign.

  I wrapped my arms around her, shuddering as she rested her head on my shoulder. “It’s not just about you.”

  Dahlia

  I rested my head on Chet’s shoulder. I was so angry. Oh man, words could not describe how angry I was, but I felt like I couldn’t do anything about it. I had taken this job knowing what I was getting into. I had gotten with Chet knowing what I was getting into. I had let him into my house knowing what I was getting into…

  There were a lot of things he said that made sense. I knew that I couldn’t expect to get special treatment just because of who I was, or because of our personal relationship, and part of me felt embarrassed that I sincerely believe that I would, even for a few short moments. But, at the same time, it wasn’t just about that. This was about Collin and Russ and how no matter what I did, I would always feel like an outsider on this team.

  But I felt so at home in Chet’s arms. I didn’t know what the answer was, or how we would get through this, but I knew that I definitely did not want him to leave. He lifted my chin up and I gazed up into his eyes. As I stared into them, I didn’t know what was up or down anymore. I was losing myself in him, drowning in him. I felt as if his touch, his arms, his embrace, held me together.

  He kissed me and I lost my breath. I had missed him so much. Even in all of my anger, I had longed for him. How could this be possible? I couldn’t believe that I could feel this strongly about a singular person. He drove me mad with desire. We continued kissing, standing there in my kitchen, drinking each other up. As I felt my body responding to him, the goosebumps rising on my skin, the shudder in my spine, the thud of my heart, I completely lost all desire to wait any longer. I needed to have him, right then and there.

  I pulled away. “I want to be with you too.” I said as I took his hand and led him out of my kitchen and back into the central hallway. I pushed open my door, my bed still a mess since I had been late getting out of the house that morning. My night clothes from the night before sat in a pile on the grandfather chair in the corner. I went right for my curtains, which were still drawn and then reached up to close them.

  As I did this, I felt Chet wrap his arms around me. I bit my lip, his touch like electricity. I turned to face him, and he kissed me again. His tongue slipped into my mouth, the warm, strong organ invading me. I clutched his face with both of my hands as I sucked him in. His hands hugged my sides, the fingers flitting across my skin, making me shudder even with my t-shirt in between. He moved his lips to my neck as his hands trailed down to my ass, taking it in two hungry handfuls.

  I humphed as he squeezed me, rubbing me there over and over again. I gasped at the sensation of his tongue on my neck. I reached down for his bulge, something I had imagined doing over and over again for the last month. There it was. I could feel him hardening at my touch, feel him shudder ever so slightly as I rubbed him.

  I kept going as he shoved me against the window, his hands clutching my breasts. I bit my lip, my eyes rolling back with the pleasure. I could feel my clitoris pulsating just as I felt his cock get rock hard in my grip. I needed him more than oxygen. He grinded up against me, his hips crushing mine, his manhood pressed into my belly.

  We kissed more, our lips dancing together, our bodies getting hotter and hotter.

  Then, he grabbed the edge of my t-shirt and lifted it over my head. My heart went into overdrive when, all of a sudden, I was exposed in front of him. This was it. It was happening. After all of this time, it was actually happening. I blinked, my eyes watering with nerves. I couldn’t believe I was doing this. What if it didn’t go well? What if I didn’t like it? What if he didn’t like it? What if I had miscalculated this whole thing incorrectly?

  But then he kissed me again. I realized the one thing I could be completely certain of was the honesty in his touch. He was more real than the floor beneath my feet. I shuddered at the sensation of his hand on my breasts, completely bare without my t-shirt to cover them. My nipples hardened at his touch. I moaned as he massaged me, his mouth sucking on my neck. His lips went lower and lower until he was sucking on my beasts.

  I sighed, my clitoris swelling more and more at the sensation of his touch. I felt hot and cold at the same time. I clutched his head, his shoulders, as he had this nonverbal conversation with my breasts, connecting with my body in a way I never thought possible. His tongue flicked my nipples, the titillating sensation driving me wild with pleasure.

  Then, just when I thought I couldn’t get enough, he knelt down on the floor. My eyes widened at the sight of someone like Chet Blackwood, with his perfect body and those eyes that were miles deep, in his shirt and dress pants, knelt down on the floor, pulling my pants and panties down.

  I gasped at the exposure, but the way he touched me made me moan with pleasure. He rubbed my clit ever so slightly, just enough to make me beg him for more. Then he massaged it a little harder, then even harder. I stared down at him, that look of lust in his eyes as he gazed at my pussy, sticking his fingers inside.

  I dr
opped my head back, sighing in ecstasy at the pressure. He did a flicking motion with his fingers, rubbing the inside of my cunt until I cried out. He gripped my hip with his free hand, then reached up for my breast. The feeling got better and better.

  He licked his lips before he planted a kiss on my cunt. I gasped, a moan slipping from his lips as he ate me out. I couldn’t believe how good it felt. I was clutching the curtains in sheer pleasure.

  The next thing I knew, he had stood up again and was leading me to my bed. I climbed on top and laid on my back, watching him as he undressed. He started with his shirt, hastily untucking it and taking out all of the buttons to reveal a tanned, washboard chest, his eyes scanning my body as he did this. Then his pants. I rubbed myself as I watched him unbutton the belt, then pull them down. There was a tent in his briefs. My eyes widened as he finally pulled his underwear down and I got an eye full. It was pretty long and had a good girth. It hung out from his body like an entity of its own, flanked by two amazingly strong looking legs as he walked towards the bed.

  He grunted as he climbed on top of me, pressing his body onto mine. He kissed me again, locking eyes with me. This was it. It was happening. I had had so many fantasies about this moment, so many ways I thought it would go, but it honestly didn’t get any better than this. He thrust himself into me. My knees buckled, my toes curled, my jaw swung open at the sensation. My eyes flashed wide. I grasped my arms around his neck, bit his shoulder as he made love to me. I rubbed my hands over his back, taking in the flexing of his muscles with every movement. I clutched his ass, feeling the way it arched up and down with his thrusts.

  I sucked on his neck, the stubble from his beard tickling my lips.

  He rested his forehead against mine as he went faster and harder, sinking himself deep and deeper into me. It felt like my hips opened up to him. Like my whole body was expanding to make way for him. I held him closer, feeling breathless.

  Chet

  Sex with Dahlia was everything I could have imagined. When we finished together, I felt that I had fallen even deeper for her, if that were at all possible. She fed a hunger in me that no one had ever done before. It was sexy and real, viscerally real. I had to have more of her; I had to have all of her. The rest of the week, we spent almost every night together, having as much sex as possible. Her body only got better and better. I lived for the feel of her soft lips on my cock, the taste of her pussy in my mouth. She felt so damn good. With this new step in our relationship, all that stuff about Russ and the players had all but been forgotten. I mean, she hadn’t brought it up since then, and I wasn’t going to be the one to do it.