by Celia Loren
I crawl onto the bed from the foot, and glide my hand over her ass. She stays completely still. I slowly press myself down on top of her, and hold her wrists together above her head with one hand.
"Spread your legs," I order her. She moves them apart, and I position myself at her opening. I move a little slower this time, even though she's clearly ready to come at my first thrust. Once I'm inside her, she closes her legs tightly, and I move my legs out wider and get some traction on the bed. Now I can really let loose.
I can hear how hard she's struggling to stay quiet as I fuck her. Her pussy is as tight as it ever was, and I grit my teeth to keep myself from coming. I want to feel her around my cock for as long as possible while I fuck her as hard as I can. Finally, though, I can't restrain myself any longer, and I release myself inside her as I bury my face in her hair.
After a minute, I lean back up, and then let myself collapse on the bed next to her. She slowly turns over, and wipes the sweat from her brow. A feeling of guilt overtakes me as I glance over at her profile.
"I hope I wasn't too rough," I tell her.
"No," she tells me, turning over onto her side and facing me. "I felt like we both needed to work some stuff out," she adds with a shy smile, then glances nervously at the door. "I should probably get back to the party before anyone notices I'm gone, but are you free for lunch tomorrow?"
"Sure," I tell her. We both get up and start putting our clothes back on.
"It felt the same, didn't it?" she suddenly asks. "I mean, the same, but different. Or—"
"No, I know what you mean," I tell her. She's just running her fingers through her hair when the door bursts open.
Adam and Danielle stand giggling in the doorway, but freeze when they see Britt and me. Adam looks confused, while Danielle glances between us and puts together what just happened in an instant.
"Um, hey Britt," she says. "I was just wondering if…ah…if I could get your help with something downstairs?"
"Sure," Britt tells her with a knowing smile, and follows her out.
Adam frowns at me. "Wait, what's going on?"
"I'll explain later," I tell him, wrapping an arm around his shoulder and pulling him back toward the party. "So you and Danielle, huh? She always did have a thing for football players."
Chapter 33
Britt
My stomach is a ball of anxiety as I sit waiting for Hunter. He chose a restaurant called Tin Roof, because he knows the owners and they never tell the paparazzi he's there. He was always well-known in college, but it must be crazy for him to have to deal with this level of fame.
I park in the lot behind the restaurant, and inside, the hostess shows me to a table in a dark corner where Hunter can sit without drawing too much attention to himself. I question again whether I've done the right thing by asking him to a public place, but my dad is home, and I would have felt odd inviting myself over to his place. Which is probably some huge mansion, now that I think about it.
When he arrives a few minutes after I sat down, I've ripped up my napkin into a hundred pieces and left it in a pile on the table. I watch him as he walks toward me, and feel the familiar but exciting butterflies in my stomach, coupled with a fear over how he'll take the news I'm about to deliver. He sits down, and I realize how futile it was for me to ever try to move on from him. He'll always be the sexiest, most magnetic man I've ever met.
He reaches across the table and takes my hand, gently rubbing his thumb across my palm. "It's good to see you," he says. "I enjoyed yesterday," he adds with a twinkle in his eye.
"Me, too," I whisper. There's nothing more I'd rather do than sit here with him holding my hand, but I have to get to why I asked him here. "Hunter, I—"
A waitress walks over and hands us our menus. "Welcome back, Mr. Phillips," she says with a blush. No one is immune to Hunter's charms. "I'll come back in a few minutes for your orders."
"Everything here is good," Hunter tells me, picking up the menu, but I press it back down on the table. He looks up at me questioningly.
"Wait. If I don't tell you something now, I never will," I say. My heartbeat spikes, and I feel a trickle of sweat run down my forehead.
"You okay?"
"Yeah, just nervous." I take a deep breath, but it does nothing. "I want to tell you the real reason I left." Hunter shifts slightly in the booth, and his face grows serious. "I told you I needed to see more of the world, but that was I lie. It was because...it was because I was pregnant."
"Oh my god," he murmurs. "You were pregnant...you were pregnant and it was…it was mine?" Pain, anger, and confusion flash over his face.
"Yes," I reply. I wait for him to put the pieces together, but he looks too stunned. "Hunter...it's Max."
"Max…"
"Max is your son."
"Max is my son? I don't understand. I don't understand what you're telling me," he says, his voice rising a little.
"I left because I was pregnant, and I knew that if my dad found out, he'd ruin your chances of being in the NFL. I didn't want to be the reason you didn't get to fulfill your dream."
"I can't believe you didn't tell me."
"I knew that if I did, you would stick by me, but then I was worried that you'd end up resenting me, and Max. We'd become the thing that had stopped you. And then when I got back into town and you were engaged, I didn't want to ruin what you had." My voice breaks, but I fight to keep going. "I'm not saying that what I did was right, but I thought at the time it was. I was so emotional, and my hormones were going crazy, and I was only eighteen. I'm so sorry, Hunter. I understand if you never want to speak to me again. But I thought you should know that Max is your son."
"My son…" he repeats.
"And you can have whatever kind of relationship with him that you want. No pressure. I'm not here to ask you for anything. You can see him as much or as little as you want to."
"Can I see him now?"
"Now?"
"Yeah," he replies, nodding.
"Sure." The waitress is already walking back over, so I grab my purse. "Sorry, it turns out we aren't staying," I tell her. Hunter follows me silently to the parking lot. "He's at his babysitter's, so why don't you follow me over there and we can pick him up?"
He nods, and I try to read his expression, but he's stone-faced. I'm not sure exactly why he wants to see Max so immediately, but I figure I owe it to him to do what he wants. I get in my car, and Hunter follows me in his black SUV over to my babysitter's modest house. I park and hop out, then walk over to Hunter's window.
"I'll go get him, okay? And, you know, don't say anything to him yet. We would need to tell my dad before we tell Max, because Max doesn't know how to keep secrets."
Hunter nods, and I head to the babysitter's door. As she opens it, Max runs to the door and flings himself into my arms. Between last night's party and today, he's spent a little more time at the babysitter's than he's used to, so he's definitely missing me. I hug him tightly against me as I head back toward the car.
Hunter steps out of his car, and walks around the front. I put Max on the ground, and he turns and sees Hunter.
"Hunter!" he yells, and takes off toward him. Hunter kneels down and accepts Max's hug, then stands and lifts him up with him.
"Did you have fun at the babysitter's?" Hunter asks.
"Yeah, Macy was there," Max says.
"Macy is her dog," I explain.
"So you like animals?" Hunter asks.
"Yeah!" Max yells excitedly.
"Me, too," Hunter says. "I better go, okay Max? I have to go practice so I can play well."
"Okay," Max says. "You want to play catch?" he asks, not quite understanding.
"Not right now," Hunter says, putting him back on the ground. "But later." He starts to walk back to his car, then turns back to me. "I just need some time," he says.
I watch him start his car and drive off as Max hugs my leg. I think we're both feeling confused by his abrupt appearance. Will he ever be able to forg
ive me for keeping his son a secret?
Chapter 34
Hunter
I scan down field for an open receiver, but the coverage is tight. I'm not known as a running quarterback, but I see an opening between two giant Patriot linemen and dart through it. One of them dives after my foot and almost trips me up, but I shake him off.
In my peripheral vision, I can see another dark blue uniform headed toward me, and I fake left and spin right. The end zone is ten yards away, but just as I reach the five yard-line, I feel a hit on my back, like someone tossed a sack of wet flour on me. I reach out my arms as far as they'll go on my way down, and hear the whistle. As the defender gets off me, I glance up and hear the roar of the crowd and the referee signaling with his hands in the air. I just made it in.
I jump up, feeling energy course through me despite the rough hit I just took. As my teammates rush toward me, I jump up and pump my fist. It's not even close to breaking the celebration rules, but for me, it's a lot.
Back in the locker room after the game, as my teammates celebrate the win around me, I realize I haven't felt this kind of joy in a long time. I smile, and grab a bottle of champagne being handed around. My teammates cheer. Usually I just shower, grab a girl, and head home. They've never really seen me let loose.
I hang with my teammates for a while, enjoying the camaraderie, and then we finally make our way out of the locker room. There are a ton of girls waiting for us. Security always lets in the hottest of our female fans. I scan their eager faces, knowing I could take any one of them home, but I keep walking.
As I drive home, I wonder about the change I'm feeling, and I know there could only be one explanation.
After Britt left, I could feel my heart ice over. I started playing with precision, as always, but no passion. With Coach McKay's guidance, I still reached out to younger players, still gave the inspiring speeches and help when they needed it, but I was at a remove. I heard someone say once that you can't block out one emotion without others being blocked, too. Maybe that's sort of what happened to me. But now that I know why she left, that our relationship wasn't just something that she casually threw away, it's like I can finally open back up again.
I haven't talked to her in two weeks. I wanted to see Max, and see if I'd be able to just accept a kid I've never known as my own. And as soon as I picked him up, I knew I could. I feel a connection to him.
But there are so many other concerns. For one, my relationship with his mom. Being with her the other week felt like a homecoming, but won't it be different now that we have a kid? I mean, what are the logistics here? Are we talking about just dating each other? We have a kid together already, so that just seems fucking weird.
I've zoned out in my thoughts, and as I look around, I realize that I've already changed direction and am now headed over to Britt's house. I shake my head at myself. I guess my intuition is already making up my mind for me. I pull up outside her house, Coach's house, and take out my phone. I know it's late, but I text her.
Can you meet me? I hold my phone in my hand, waiting.
Where? She texts back a minute later.
In my car. I'm outside.
I see a lamp go on in the corner guest room, and soon the front door opens quietly and Britt comes tiptoeing out. She's wearing a thin, white robe, and she almost glows in the light of the full moon. As she nears the car, I reach over and push open the passenger side door. She climbs up and in and quietly shuts the door behind her.
I smile at her in the grey light, and watch her tentatively smile back. I reach my hand over and open it on the console. She places her small hand in mine and I grip it reassuringly.
"I missed you," I tell her. "Not just these last couple weeks."
"I know," she whispers back. "Me too. Almost more than I could bear."
"It was special, what we had."
"And I hope it still can be."
"I've been worrying about what this would look like," I tell her. "I mean, there's no model for how to date the mother of the kid you never knew you had. But maybe if we decide, right now, that whatever happens, we'll get through it, then we actually will. Maybe that's a choice we can make. Does that sound naïve?"
"No. It's funny, I was always the planner between us, but having a kid forced me to let go of that. I choose you, Hunter. And I choose Max."
Chapter 35
Britt
"I choose you and Max," Hunter replies, his voice husky and full of emotion in the darkness. He leans forward, and our lips touch. I gasp at my body's response to him. It feels like a fire rippling across my skin as he slips his tongue against mine and our warm breath mixes. I know he feels it too, the urgency, as I slide my palm across his stubble and feel his arm around my back. Maybe someday we'll be able to take our time again, but it won't be tonight.
"Move your seat back," I tell him, and he presses his legs against the floor and pushes back. He reaches back over, sliding his rough hand across my bare thigh and then up against my aching slit. A couple flicks of his fingers almost send me over the edge, but then he leans forward, and pushing my nightgown and robe up until they pool around my waist, he presses his face into me.
His tongue circles my clit and I tilt my head back and spread my legs for him. The ecstasy he's creating is almost unbearable. I moan as pleasure builds up inside me, and grip the door handle as he sends me over the edge. He sits back and wipes his mouth as I gasp for air, and I quickly jump over to his seat, straddling him and pulling at his belt.
I pull his cock out of his boxers and slide my hand along his length and hear him groan. I hold him in place with a hand wrapped around his base, and then lower myself down on top of him. I no longer feel any pain as he sheathes himself inside me, but his size still stretches me to the limit.
"Oh, fuck, Britt," he moans, and wraps a hand around the back of my neck, hungrily pressing his tongue into my mouth. I raise myself up as our tongues dance against each other's, then lower myself down and move my hips in a circle, feeling him touch every sensitive nerve inside me. Again I raise myself up, and feel him thrust up to meet me. Again, again, again, until we're lost in each other's bodies, moving as one.
We come together, and I collapse against him, feeling his chest expand and contract against mine. I tuck my head under his chin, and my eyes close.
"Let’s just go to sleep here," I whisper, and feel his chest rock a little with a laugh.
"Soon we'll be able to sleep in the same bed," Hunter replies, pulling my hair out of my face.
"Can we tell my dad soon?" I ask.
"How about tomorrow? I don't have practice."
"Tomorrow? You're sure?"
"I want to be able to tell Max, to have you guys over at my house…"
I sit back and look at him. "You're sure you're ready for this? Having a kid around, it's different."
"I think I am," he replies with a smile. I give him a quick kiss, and then drop back onto the passenger seat and pull my robe back down.
"Want to come over after lunch?" I ask.
"See you then," he tells me. I hop out of the car and give him a quick wave before tiptoeing back into the house. I turn at the window next to the door, and watch him drive away.
* * *
The next day after lunch, I park Max upstairs in his room with Sesame Street on. If he sees Hunter arrive, he'll want to play, and that's not the reason he's coming over. Just after 2, I hear a car out front and head toward the front window. Hunter is pulling into the driveway.
I sit back down on the couch next to my dad, who's watching Sports Center, while my mind races. I have no idea how my dad will react. I wonder who he'll be more upset with, me or Hunter.
The door opens, and Hunter pokes his head in. "Hello?" he calls out.
"Come on in, Hunter!" my dad replies, clicking off the TV. Hunter walks in, shutting the door behind him, and heads for an armchair next to the corner of the couch where I'm sitting. "You want something to drink?" my dad offers.
"I
'm good," Hunter says.
"Actually, Dad, there's something I—we, wanted to talk to you about," I say, glancing nervously at Hunter.
My dad looks between us, then smiles a little. "Are you two dating?" he asks.
"What? I…" I stumble.
"I'm not blind," he says. "I saw you talking at my birthday party."
"You would be okay with that?" Hunter asks, sounding surprised.
"Sure, you're two willing adults," my dad says.
"When I was in college, you always used to warn me about football players," I point out.
"Yeah, but that was different. You were just a kid then. There's a world of difference between a freshman in college and a senior. Plus, you were a different guy back then," my dad says to Hunter, then turns to me. "The stuff he and the other players would talk about in the locker room…" he says with a shake of his head.
I clear my throat, regretting that I asked him to illuminate us. "Well, that's the thing, Dad."
"Britt and I did date in college," Hunter says, biting the bullet.
"What?" my dad asks, frowning. "After I explicitly warned you to not date football players? And after I warned you to stay away from my daughter?"
"There's more," I say, bracing myself. "Max is Hunter's son."
"WHAT!?" my dad erupts.
"Dad, stay calm, okay? You're not supposed to get—"
"Calm? How am I supposed to stay calm!? You abandoned my pregnant daughter?!" he shouts, leaping up and approaching Hunter, who stands in case he needs to defend himself. I jump up and get between them.
"No, Dad! He didn't know! I didn't tell him!"
My dad looks at me suspiciously. "Well, he knows now!"
"I only told him a few weeks ago," I tell him. "Back in college, I knew that Hunter would never abandon me if he knew I was pregnant, so I didn't tell him. I knew you'd be furious, and I was worried about his NFL chances. So I went to Oregon without telling either of you the truth."