by B. B. Hamel
“Sorry to disappoint.”
I laughed. “That’s not what I meant.”
“I know. Relax.”
I sighed, shaking my head. “I guess I am nervous.”
“No need to be. You know Hynes. Drinkwater is a good guy.”
“Does he know about the baby?”
“No. And Hynes knows not to say anything.”
“Okay. So no baby talk. Got it.”
He laughed. “What, were you going to go into a monologue on morning sickness?”
“Haven’t had it yet. Fingers crossed.”
“Good,” he said. “I hope you skip that.”
“Some women do and some don’t.”
“Did your mother?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know.”
“I guess things aren’t good there.”
“No. She basically disowned me the other day.”
“Shit,” he said. “I’m really sorry. Fuck parents.”
“Do you talk to your parents much?”
He shook his head. “Both of them are petty assholes and drunks. I try to keep contact to a minimum.”
“I’m sorry too.”
“Don’t be. It was good motivation.”
He stopped outside Dom’s. Gibson nodded at the doorman, who let us right inside. Once we stepped in, the hostess recognized Gibson and seated us immediately at a table in the back.
Two guys were already there. Hynes I knew, and Drinkwater I had only ever seen from afar. He wasn’t as tall as I had expected, but he was strong. His friendly smile made me feel instantly comfortable.
“Drinkwater, this is Avery,” Gibson said.
He shook my hand. “My real name’s John, but call me Drinkwater if you want.”
“Good to meet you, Drinkwater.”
We all sat down and got menus out.
“So, how’d this asshole convince you to come out?” Hynes asked.
“Just invited me, I guess.”
“That’s all?” Drinkwater said. “You’re far too hot for this guy.”
I felt myself blush. “That’s not true.”
“It is true,” Gibson said, “but you should see the girls these two have been with.”
“What do you mean?” Hynes said. “Only dimes for this man.”
“Dimes? Man, more like pennies,” Drinkwater said.
I laughed and Gibson smirked.
“I’ll get out Facebook, man,” Gibson said. “I can show Avery some pretty sketchy looking girls you’ve both been with.”
“Okay, man,” Drinkwater said, holding up his hands. “I get it. No more jokes.”
The waitress came over and we ordered some food. The guys fell into a comfortable conversation about practice. I didn’t know most of what they were talking about, but I didn’t mind one bit. It just felt good to be outside the apartment, and the friendship between the three of them seemed incredibly stable and healthy.
I could tell people kept looking at us, but nobody came over, which was good. It took a lot for me to ignore the looks and the whispers, but I tried my best. This was going to be my life if I was going to be around Gibson at all, or at least if my child was. I couldn’t let it bother me.
Gibson clearly didn’t. He dominated the conversation, smiling and laughing and making jokes. People were looking at him, but he didn’t care one bit. Gibson probably would have stared right back if he even noticed. He was so confident, so attractive. He made the whole room seem less dim.
“So, what do you do?” Drinkwater asked me. “We’ve been talking about football for too long.”
“I’m a bio major,” I said. “I want to go into sports medicine, or maybe do sports research.”
“She’s been doing some research on our boy here,” Hynes said.
“Oh shit. I mean I figured, but you didn’t have to say it,” Drinkwater said, laughing.
“No, man. Like, actual research,” Hynes said.
“What?”
“Yeah,” I said. “I’ve been taking his vitals, tracking his progress over the season so far.”
“She’s at my place every morning, bright and early,” Gibson said.
“Yeah,” Hynes said. “For real. Bright and early.”
I laughed. “Sorry, Hynes. You’re a good sport.”
“I try.”
“So wait. What are you looking for?”
“Changes in blood pressure, heart rate, that sort of thing. I want to see what the highest level of athlete’s vital signs are like throughout a season.”
“Huh,” he said, nodding. “That’s really interesting.”
“It’s not bad,” Gibson said, “except sometimes I feel like a piece of meat.”
“Oh yeah? You hate being used by her?”
Gibson grinned at me. “No. Not at all.”
I blushed and looked away. “It’s not like that. It’s just simple stuff.”
“Yeah, I’m sure,” Drinkwater said.
“She mostly makes me take my shirt off and pokes me with shit,” Gibson said.
“Are you guys just going to make jokes all night?” I said, smiling.
“Basically, yeah.” Hynes said. “He didn’t warn you?”
“No. Not at all,” Gibson answered, laughing.
“Damn. He walked you into this unprepared? Brutal,” Drinkwater said.
“It’s okay. I can take it.”
Gibson smirked hugely. “I know you can.”
The boys all cracked up, and I couldn’t help but laugh. “I walked into that,” I said.
Gibson smiled at me. “Yeah, I know.”
The waitress came with our food not long later, and I felt really good. Gibson was making me laugh, talking to me, flirting with me, bringing me into the conversation. I felt so comfortable with these guys, and things just felt really natural. We ate our food and continued talking, mostly about the season, but also about my life.
I told them a little bit about growing up in my hometown. Drinkwater was from Pittsburgh, so he was familiar with Pennsylvania. Hynes talked about growing up in the Deep South and about his big, crazy family, and even Gibson shared a story about his parents.
By the end of the meal, I felt great. I was tired, but feeling good. The four of us left Dom’s and stood outside for a minute, saying goodbye.
“All right, Avery,” Drinkwater said. “You passed the test.”
“What’s that?”
“This was a test,” Hynes said. “Trying to see how cool you are.”
“Oh yeah?” I asked, looking at Gibson.
He held up his hands. “Don’t look at me. At least you passed.”
“And what if you failed my test?”
Drinkwater laughed. “Gibson here has never failed anything in his life.”
“That’s true,” he conceded, nodding.
I rolled my eyes. “All right, boys, I’m tired. It was fun.”
“Later, girl,” Drinkwater said.
“See you tomorrow,” Hynes added.
Hynes and Drinkwater headed off, walking back to the other end of campus. Gibson and I started walking back toward my apartment.
“Sorry about them,” he said. “That wasn’t really a test. He was joking.”
“I know,” I said. Our shoulders brushed, and I felt a pulse run through me. “I’m glad I passed it anyway.”
“You can’t fail that sort of test.”
“What sort?”
“You know the kind, when people are trying to decide if you’re cool or not. You always pass that test.”
I shook my head. “I’m not cool at all.”
“You are. You just don’t know it.”
“You’re the cool one. You noticed people staring at you, right?”
“Yeah. I’m good at ignoring it, though.”
“That’s cool.”
“Nah,” he said, looking into the distance. “That’s not cool. Being cool is being sure of yourself, being comfortable. Cool is doing whatever you like to do and not apologizing for it. Yo
u’re as cool as they come, Avery Carpenter.”
I bit my lip and didn’t have a word to say. Nobody had ever said anything so nice to me before. It seemed unlike him. He normally complimented my body, made crude jokes to me, made me blush, but this time he was complimenting me, my personality, the person I was.
It made me feel good, really good. He was being so genuine, and it surprised me.
Finally, we ended up at my door. He nodded at me, smirking. “I’d ask you to invite me in, but I suspect you won’t.”
“I guess not,” I said.
“Invite me anyway.” He stepped closer, and I took a deep breath.
I wanted to. I wanted to invite him so badly. I wanted to drag him into my apartment and let him do whatever he wanted to me.
But I couldn’t. I shook my head. “Good night, Gibson.”
“Night, Avery.”
“See you tomorrow.”
I opened my door and shut it again. I leaned up against it, breathing deeply.
I wanted him, but I was so afraid of what it meant, of the man he was. I was afraid of the mob money, afraid of his fame, afraid of dragging him down. All of it was holding me back from doing what I wanted.
But tonight had felt good. He took me out and gave me a glimpse of his real life. I wouldn’t trade that for anything.
And I’d be seeing him tomorrow.
25
Gibson
I could still hear the screams of the crowd as I slowly dismantled Alabama’s defense.
It was supposed to be a hard game. We were supposed to be two of the best teams in football meeting early in the season. Everyone said it was going to be a clash of titans.
It wasn’t. I didn’t hold back, and we rolled over Alabama. I felt like I couldn’t do anything wrong as I found my targets one after the other. We marched down the field time and time again, destroying Alabama’s team, embarrassing them.
It was a huge win, the sort of win I really needed after that problematic game against Mountain. This was a win against a real team, and there was no struggle to be found. If anyone had questioned my abilities, they were definitely silenced after this performance.
“Come on, man,” Hynes said to me. We were the last ones in the locker room. “We gotta go celebrate.”
“We will,” I said, “but I told Avery I’d meet her here. I’ll see you guys later.”
“Fine. We’ll be at Dom’s. Don’t miss out, man. You deserve a little celebration.”
I nodded as he left and leaned back against the lockers. I sat there and replayed the game in my head, tried to get the feeling that I’d had on the field back. I wanted to experience that buzzing high and excitement again as people screamed my name and I dismantled my opponent.
There was a bump, and I looked up. Avery stared down at me.
“Hey,” I said.
“Hey yourself. Good game.”
“Thanks.”
“You destroyed them.”
“I tried to.” I sat up. “Ready to take my measurements, nurse?”
She just smiled and got to work. I stripped off my shirt and let her do her things, watching her the whole time.
It was strange. I had just won one of the biggest games of my college career, but all I wanted to do was sit in this room with Avery. I didn’t care that she was just taking measurements and wanted to keep me at a distance. This was all I wanted.
“You look good,” she said.
“I’m aware.”
“I mean your vitals. You’re in amazing shape, you know.”
“I work out a little bit.”
She laughed. “I bet. Just a little jogging here and there.”
“Nothing more.”
“Sure.” She shoved a thermometer in my mouth. “Listen, I just want to say this while you can’t respond. Today’s game was amazing, and I’m really proud of you. I’m glad you put all that other stuff behind you.”
I smirked at her and nodded. When the thermometer beeped and she took it out of my mouth, I took her hand. “I’d like to be behind you.”
She laughed. “You had a few seconds to think of something to say, and that was the best you could do?”
“Sorry. I spent most of my brainpower on the field.”
“That’s fair. I’ll give you a pass.”
She had finished up and started to put her stuff away.
“Come out with me,” I said suddenly. “I’m meeting some guys at Dom’s. Then we’ll probably go to a party or something. Come celebrate with me.”
She smiled. “I can’t. I’m sorry. I’m feeling like shit. Did you know being pregnant isn’t really very fun?”
“At least you’re glowing.”
“Glowing,” she said, frowning. “Why do people say that? I’m not glowing. I don’t feel like I’m glowing. I feel tired and cranky and sick.”
“You’re still sexy as hell,” he said, “regardless of how you feel.”
“Thanks, but I’m still not coming out.”
“Okay then. Your call.”
She smiled again at me, and I could tell that she was enjoying herself. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Okay?”
“See you.”
She stood up and left the locker room.
I slowly gathered my stuff, throwing my shirt back on.
As stupid as it was, that little moment in the locker room with Avery was something I had been looking forward to all day. Even during the game, I couldn’t help but think about her on the sidelines while the defense was playing. I had scanned the crowd, wondering where she was, but couldn’t see her of course. I had managed to get her tickets for the rest of the season, but I didn’t know where the seats were exactly.
It was stupid, idiotic. She didn’t want anything else from me. She just wanted me to be a part of our baby’s life.
But I wanted more, and I was going to get it.
Dom’s was loud and packed. When I got there I was greeted with cheers and cameras flashing from students who wanted pictures. It was totally weird to have your peers taking picture of you, but I smiled and high-fived everyone before finally ending up at the bar with Hynes.
I sipped a beer but wasn’t in the mood. People were jubilant, taking shots and laughing, and the music was up loud. But for some reason, the whole place felt wrong to me.
I couldn’t figure out what it was. I just wasn’t in the mood to party. Normally, after a win like that, I’d be out of my mind with joy. And I was happy, but I didn’t much feel like being in a packed room, drinking with strangers, talking to people I didn’t care about and who didn’t really care about me.
A couple hours passed. I managed to drink a beer or two, but nothing to make me feel drunk. Finally, the crew decided to move the party to some house just off campus.
We got outside. Hynes was making some joke to Drinkwater about the game, and Reggie was off being the prissy little fuck he was. I looked off into the distance and realized something.
“Hynes,” I said.
“What up?”
“Look, man, I got something to do.”
“Hell yeah you do. You got to party your fucking face off, for tomorrow we have more practice.”
I laughed. “No, man. Something else, something I’ve been meaning to do all day.”
“All right. Whatever, man. Are you coming out later?”
“Probably. I’ll meet you there.”
“Cool. Go do your thing.”
I nodded and headed off, my mind made up. It was around nine at night, but the campus was still alive with people excited from the win. I made my way past the stadium, trying not to get recognized, though I did have to give a few handshakes and pictures.
It took me nearly a half hour, but finally I stood outside Avery’s apartment door.
Fuck it. Going out to celebrate just felt fucking wrong without her. If she wasn’t feeling well, I knew one good way to make her feel better.
I knocked on the door. She answered after a minute and looked surprised. “Gibson,” she sai
d.
“Hey,” I answered. “I came to see you.”
“Shouldn’t you be out partying?”
“Probably,” I said, and stepped closer to her. She was wearing a tank top and short cotton shorts, and she looked so fucking sexy. “But I didn’t feel like celebrating without you.”
“Gibson,” she said.
I took her by the hips and pulled her against me. She didn’t resist.
“We shouldn’t,” she said.
“Probably not, but fuck what we should do. I’ve been thinking about this all day.”
When I kissed her, it felt right. I knew as soon as my lips touched hers that this was exactly what I’d needed to do all day. She didn’t resist for a second, just wrapped her arms around my neck. I moved her into the apartment and kicked the door shut behind me.
“Harper isn’t here,” she managed to say. “Studying.”
“Good.” I kissed her neck and slipped my hand down the front of her shorts. She wasn’t wearing panties, and her pussy was soaking wet already.
“You fucking dirty girl,” I said as I began to slowly work her clit. “You’re not wearing panties.”
“I didn’t expect anyone,” she said.
“Are you sure? Or were you hoping I’d show up?”
“Oh shit,” she gasped as I pressed my fingers deep inside her. “I was hoping. Fuck, I was hoping.”
“You wanted me to find you like this, looking sexy as fuck, not wearing any panties.”
“Yes,” she gasped as I fucked her pussy with my fingers. She kissed me hard, her tongue and lips working mine as my fingers pressed deep inside her soaking pussy.
I loved the way she tasted. I loved the way she felt. I loved how soaking wet her pussy was for me, even just moments after seeing me. She was ready to be fucked, practically begging for it, even when she thought it might complicate things.
That didn’t matter to me. All that mattered was her, was Avery. I could be out partying, getting hammered, getting treated like a fucking hero. Instead, all I wanted was her.
I pressed her back down onto the couch. She fell back and stared up at me. I dropped onto my knees in front of her and kissed her hard, my hands roaming her body, feeling her skin and her breasts. I began to kiss her neck and slowly slid her cotton short off.
I spread her legs nice and wide. She bit her lip as I kissed up her inner thigh and began to slowly tongue her clit.