by B. B. Hamel
I paused. “Are you serious?”
“Yes. Open up.” He hung up the phone.
I sighed and got myself together quickly. I got out of bed and padded out into the living room. Sure enough, when I pulled open the door, Gibson was leaning against the wall, his arms crossed.
“Morning, sunshine,” he said.
“Gibson, this seems pretty crazy.”
“I know, but I had to see you.”
“Come on.” I took his hand and pulled him into the apartment. “Be quiet,” I said softly.
He nodded as I led him back into my bedroom. I shut the door behind us as he sat down on the bed.
“Is this my first time in your room?” he asked.
“I think so.”
He nodded, smiling to himself. “It’s very you.”
“I’m too tired to read into that, Gibson. What are you doing here?”
“I gave the money back.”
“What?” I sat down on the bed next to him.
He took my hand. “I gave the money back to the mob. I just came back from meeting with that mobster guy. I gave him that five grand, and now we’re square.”
“Seriously?”
He nodded, grinning. “It’s done.”
I let out a sigh. I felt like I’d been holding that breath for a long time.
“I’m relieved,” I said.
“I’m sorry I woke you up. I just really couldn’t wait.”
“It’s okay,” I said, smiling. “I’m happy you’re here.”
He pulled me tight against him and kissed me. I felt that familiar thrill run through me despite being so tired.
“You need to know something,” he said. “I’m in this, for real.”
I touched his face, my heart hammering in my chest. “You know how I feel.”
“Say it,” he whispered.
“I’m in love with you, Gibson Evans.”
“Yeah,” he said, grinning. “I thought so.”
He kissed me hard, and he didn’t need to say it back. I knew what he really thought, what he really meant.
He pushed me back onto the bed, his body pressing down on mine. I felt that thrill in my chest against as I quickly worked his belt off, unbuttoning his jeans. He kissed my neck, smiling, and I gasped as I felt his fingers slip beneath my panties.
I’d been dreaming about this for so long. Gibson Evans, all mine. Finally I could feel him in my bed, maybe even wake up with him. He kissed my lips as his fingers worked my clit, rolling in soft circles. He slipped them deep inside me as I managed to find his hard cock in his jeans.
He rolled over onto his back, and I pulled his pants and briefs off. He laughed as I kissed his legs and then took his thick cock in my hand. He looked down at me, propped up on one elbow.
“I’ve fucked that tight pussy of yours everywhere but a bed,” he said. I licked his cock and nodded.
“Yeah. That’s true.”
“Now that’s exactly what I want.”
I began to suck his cock, and he groaned, holding my hair. He pressed my mouth down along his thick cock, pushing himself into my throat. I sucked him like that, letting him move me up and down, thrusting into my throat. I loved the way he took control and the way he tasted.
I sucked his cock wildly, soaking wet. I couldn’t believe I went from dead asleep to needing his cock inside me so quickly, but this was what Gibson made me feel.
I pulled back, gasped for air, and jerked his cock off hard, using my spit to slide my hand along his skin. He groaned, and I pulled my shirt off, tossing it aside. His hands felt my breasts as I continued to jerk his cock.
“Fuck, girl,” he said. “You’re so fucking sexy. You look better and better every time I see you.”
He grabbed my hips and rolled me back down beneath him. He slipped my shorts and panties off, tossing them aside. He quickly pressed his mouth against my pussy, working me with his tongue and his lips, sucking my clit.
He worked me that way, slipping two fingers deep inside my wet pussy, until I began to work my hips. Once I was moaning, he pulled back, grabbed my legs, and spread them wide.
I watched as he slowly pressed his cock deep inside me. I gasped, and he kissed me hard, cradling my head, holding my hair.
He began to fuck me like that, sliding in and out, his thick cock pressing deep inside me. I kissed his lips, moaning, as he worked me. I loved having Gibson in my bed, his strong arms holding me, his thick cock fucking my tight pussy.
I couldn’t get enough of him. I began to grind my hips, rolling against him as he fucked me deeper and deeper. This was the man I loved, the man I needed. I had fallen for him harder than I could have imagined, and I needed every inch of him.
And Gibson wasn’t holding back. There was something frenzied and intense between us. We both knew this was the first time we had admitted how seriously we were involved with one another, how seriously we cared about each other. It was more than just physical and more than just the baby.
I loved him. I wanted him. I wanted him to have me, all of me, completely.
His cock pressed deep inside me as he kissed me, his hips working. I took his thick cock deep inside me. I needed it so badly as he fucked me, deep and deeper. He pressed my legs wide open and held my hips, fucking me, feeling my breasts.
I could feel it getting closer as he began to work my clit. I rocked my hips, my hands up above my head, pressing against the headboard. I worked his cock with my hips as he fucked me deep, rough, and I was lost, losing myself in him. I could feel myself not caring about anything about Gibson and feeling right with him.
Stroke after rough stroke, his muscles tense and ripped. I moaned his name over and over as the orgasm tipped into me.
I came hard on his thick cock, unable to hold myself back. I came hard for him as he fucked me, his hands on my hips, his whole body rough and strong.
I watched his face as he bit his lip and groaned. I could feel him coming inside me, our orgasms bursting together, completely overwhelming anything else.
When it was over, he collapsed onto the bed next to me. I laughed and kissed his lips, and he grinned back.
“Think I can stay the night?” he asked. “We can do my physical in the morning.”
“I think I can handle that.”
He kissed my lips and I felt right. His arms wrapped around me, pulling me close against him.
Gibson Evans, my man. I was his completely, for as long as I could possibly imagine.
31
Gibson
I cocked my arm back and released. I did that over and over, throwing the ball hard and fast.
We were getting ready for the weekend, and for the first time since the semester started, I finally felt like I could pay attention to practice.
Avery was still there, lingering in my mind, but it wasn’t a worry anymore. No, it was an excitement, a desire, a need.
It was fucking love.
That only made me want to concentrate more and play harder. Before I had been worried about how I was going to take care of her, but now that seemed petty and insignificant. I still had to work that out, but I knew it would come together somehow.
Because I loved her, and she loved me. We were officially together, though neither of us needed to say that out loud.
We both knew what this meant.
Avery was the mother of my child, the love of my life. I cocked my arm back and threw a bomb deep, dropping it right into the receiver’s hands.
I felt good, better than I had in a long, long time. Nothing was in the way of Avery and me anymore. All I needed to do was kick ass and win games, which was something I happened to be very good at anyway.
For some reason, the idea of having a kid didn’t scare me as much as it had at first. Maybe because I knew that raising a child with Avery wasn’t going to be that difficult. I knew she’d be a great mother, and I was going to do my best to be a better father than I had growing up.
I was determined to do things right. We were no
t doomed to repeat the mistakes of our past if we could just grow up and move on. Maybe I had a lot of growing to do still, but I was looking forward to doing it with Avery.
Practice slowly wound down, and I headed into the locker room with the other guys, laughing and joking. I was lucky to be a part of a team as great as Mater Dei, and lucky that my teammates were good guys.
But I still had one more thing to do, one more problem to solve. As soon as I finished showering off, I felt the fear grow steadily in my gut.
“You coming?” Hynes asked me as the guys headed out.
“Nah. I’ll catch up later.”
“Your call, man. See you.” They waved and went out the back door.
I glanced back at Coach’s office door and took a deep breath. I wasn’t ready for this, but I didn’t think I ever would be.
I got up and walked over to Coach Taylor’s door. I knocked and waited a second before he called me in.
“Hey, Coach,” I said. “Got a second?”
“Sure, Gibson. Take a seat.”
Coach Taylor was in his early fifties, and he was known to be one of the best college football coaches around. I spent a lot of time with him because he grew up coaching quarterbacks, and I could tell he had big hopes for me. I hated the idea of disappointing him, since he was the one who brought me onto the team in the first place and gave me my shot, but I was out of options, and I knew I needed help.
I sat down across from him.
“What can I do for you?” he asked.
“Coach, I have something really, I don’t know, awkward to talk about.”
He leaned back in his chair, his sharp, dark eyes taking me in. He took off his hat and ran his hand through his salt and pepper hair. “Spit it out then. Better that way.”
“I got a girl pregnant. Now I need to make some money if I’m going to help her.”
He stared at me for a second. “This the girl I’ve heard about? Avery?”
“How’d you know that?”
“I hear things, Gibson. Guys talk and all that. You’ve been seeing a lot of her.”
“Yeah, I have. I mean, she’s pregnant with my kid.”
“How are things with her?”
“Good, actually. We really like each other.”
“Good,” he said. “That’s important. What about her family?”
“They aren’t on good terms.”
“That’s a shame.” He crossed his arms, frowning. “Raising a kid is really going to make your football career difficult.”
“I know that.”
“But it’s possible,” he said. “Believe it or not, you wouldn’t be the first guy to get drafted with a young kid.”
“Really?”
He laughed. “Of course not. Shit, son, football attracts a certain kind of man, and that kind of man tends to get girls pregnant, if you understand me.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re not angry?”
“I’m not happy, but no, I’m not angry. This isn’t the end for you.”
“So what do I do?”
“You’re going to need to work harder,” he said. “But I have to admit, you coming to me like this and asking for help is a pretty huge step.”
“How?” I couldn’t believe he wasn’t yelling at me or tearing me down. Frankly, I had expected a pretty awful conversation. Instead, he was taking it really well.
“Listen to me, Gibson. I know you haven’t had very many good role models in your life, so I hope you’ll take what I have to say to heart.” He crossed his arms and took a deep breath. “Being a man isn’t just about winning games and being the best. There are plenty of men who aren’t the best at what they do.
“Being a man is about taking responsibility and working hard, no matter what. There are a lot of people out there who don’t take responsibility for their own lives and their own mistakes, and they don’t work hard. Those aren’t real men, Gibson.
“A man doesn’t run away. A man doesn’t turn his back. He does what needs to be done, regardless of how difficult it might be. Are you prepared to do that?”
“I am,” I said, nodding.
“Good. You can be a real man, Gibson, or you can be something else. You can step up and try to make this work, or you can give up and roll over. I don’t think you’re the giving up type, though.”
“No, sir, I’m not.”
“Good.” He smiled at me. “Well then, how about we start by getting you a job?”
I laughed. “Seriously?”
“Sure. It’ll be part time, something around here that we can keep quiet. We’ll also want to keep this baby away from the media for as long as possible, of course, but that won’t be forever. I’ll help you however I can, Gibson. You have my promise.”
“Thank you, sir,” I said.
I finally felt right.
“All right, get going. I have work to do. We’ll talk more about it later.”
“Thank you again.” I stood up. “I won’t let you down.”
“I know you won’t.”
I turned and left his office, floating on air.
All I wanted to do was see Avery. I wanted to tell her what had just happened. We were going to be okay. I was going to work as much as I could, and I was going to make some money. We’d have help. We wouldn’t have to do this alone.
And I wasn’t backing down. I wasn’t going to fail.
I was a real man. I took responsibility for my mistakes and I fixed them. My parents were a great example of what a shitty people could be like, and I was determined not to fall into that same trap.
In the end, I was going to be better. I was going to be better than they were, better than they thought I could be. I was going to be better than anyone could possibly guess.
Because I was Gibson Evans, and I was a real fucking man.
I grinned to myself as I left the practice facility, heading toward Avery. I grinned to myself, thinking about her the whole time.
32
Avery
Months Later
I felt so damn nervous, I thought I might puke.
I glanced at Gibson sitting next to me, and he just smiled, calm as anything. I couldn’t imagine how he could be so calm when his whole future was on the line, but he took my hand and he squeezed it.
That helped. Gibson always managed to calm me down, make me feel better. Even when things with little Jax seemed too overwhelming, Gibson always took the weight away.
I never understood what it meant to be a mother until I saw Jax for the first time. He was beautiful and tiny and strange, and I loved him so much that my whole damn body wanted to break. I couldn’t believe it when they let me bring him home with me a few days later, and every day was a mystery and a surprise as he slowly grew.
Gibson was there to help, at least. Gibson Evans, my champion quarterback, one of the top prospects for the NFL draft.
I glanced back over my shoulder and saw the few reporters Coach Taylor had let into Gibson’s apartment. They were sitting around and looking bored, waiting for Gibson’s turn in the draft. We had a pretty good idea when he was going to get picked, but we weren’t positive. Nothing was certain in the draft, and that terrified me.
“Relax,” he said to me. “It’s going to be fine.”
“Easy for you to say.”
“Why?”
“You’re always calm.” I rocked Jax in my arms.
“Here. Give him to me.”
“No. It’s okay. You should be ready. It’s starting soon.”
He laughed. “Fuck the draft. Give me my son.”
I smiled and handed Jax over. Gibson rocked him and made faces.
Gibson was a better father than I could have ever imagined. He was attentive and he was patient and he was caring.
And best of all, he still loved me. He still undressed me slowly and licked every inch of my body, his tongue on my clit, his cock between my legs. Gibson still made me feel incredible, as amazing as the very first time.
The m
an was insatiable, which was good, since I couldn’t get enough of him.
We had moved in together about halfway through my pregnancy. Coach Taylor found us a little apartment in a new building just off campus, not far from my old place. Harper visited practically every day, especially after I had Jax.
While Gibson was in season, he worked part time cleaning the locker room. Nobody knew he did it at the time, but the money he brought home was a huge help. And after he won the national championship at the head of Mater Dei, journalists went crazy about the quarterback janitor. His name was all over the world, and he went on a crazy tour of talk shows and interviews.
It also helped his brand when I published my paper on him. “Long-Term Effects of Diet and Exercise on Top Athletes: A Study by Avery Carpenter” was published in Science magazine to universal acclaim. Of course, I couldn’t have done it without my biology professor, who immediately recognized how important and serious my study with Gibson was. That study only made Gibson that much more serious and wanted.
But he always had time for me. Whenever I needed him, he found me. Whenever I wanted him, he came to me. Gibson always put me and Jax first, no matter what.
Today was no exception. He could have gone down to the actual draft and sat in that beautiful room, but he insisted on staying at home for the draft with me and Jax. That was all he wanted. Coach Taylor made sure that happened.
“What do you think?” Gibson asked me. “Am I going to be a pro football player soon?”
I laughed. “I sure hope so.”
“Same, but I guess it’s no big deal if I’m not.” He bounced Jax. “I could always go back to cleaning the locker room.”
“The media would love that.”
“They sure would.”
The draft got started. In the first round, some linebacker from Michigan got picked by the Cleveland Browns.
My stomach was a knot of anxiety and worry. Coach Taylor came over and sat down in the chair next to us.
“Ready, Gibson?” he asked.
“I’m ready, Coach.”
“It’s going to happen soon. I feel it.”