by M. C. Cerny
“Let’s just say I over did it last weekend in the race and now I’m paying for it.” I grimaced wishing I’d thought to bring my crutches as much as I hated them, the extra stability would have been nice.
“Bruising?” He asked nodding to my leg.
“Yeah. Pain just wearing my prosthetic.” I had a heck of a time getting my sock on this morning and despite wanting to lay in bed and feel sorry for myself, I forced myself to get up, call Roy my trainer, and get in here to address this. I was all for ripping the band aid off as much as I could.
Chase grimaced. While he still had his leg, he also knew what surgery and a subsequent knee replacement was like from his football injury. We were both a little bionic and equally as stubborn.
“Hey! Kiara.” David jogged up to us in the parking lot. I hadn’t seen him since the kiss a week ago. What was he doing here?
“David.” Chase and him did the bro hug thing and I felt like a third wheel in a rehab sandwich.
“I didn’t know you guys were good friends.” I’d forgotten how small town could be and how everyone knew each other.
David clapped Chase on the back. “This guy was our star quarterback. The rest of us faded into oblivion behind him.”
“Not all true. You should check out the yearbooks from my senior and junior years.” Chase shot back. I made a mental note to ask Amber if she could dig those up. Purely for research purposes of course. It was clear we were all separated by six degrees, possibly less of separation here.
“Most of us in our group played together. You, Evan, Hunter, and me. Whit played for a bit and even Damien before he quit.”
“That guy hated practice. He only showed up so he could watch my sister cheer. Come to think of it, they both quit around the same time.” Chase rubbed his jaw like he was remembering something and then shook it off. I didn’t inquire, he’d tell me if he wanted to and if not that was okay.
“Yeah, the only one not on the team was my brother, Andy.”
“I knew he was a smart guy.” Chase and David bantered back and forth and I grimaced wanting to get off my leg.
“I have an appointment. Chase, I’ll see you inside.” Ignoring David I pushed forward leaving Chase with my bag. He’d drop it off at the locker room for me and I was already dressed with my suit on underneath for the swim portion of today’s PT.
“Sure thing.”
I left the guys outside to chat and made my way in. I was second guessing my decision to leave my crutches at home to help stabilize me, but damn it I didn’t want anyone to know I wasn’t okay and hopping in on one leg was ridiculous.
As soon as I got inside I unwound my scarf and hung up my jacket. I smiled at the receptionist and made my way back to the therapy room. My trainer, Roy waited reading something on his tablet and making notes, probably my chart. He was one of the few people I let see my vulnerable side because I had to. It was the only way to work through the pain and push forward.
“Kiara, what’s going on.” Roy was on me before I could school my features.
“Nothing.” I lied.
“Bullshit. Get that prothesis off so I can take a look.” Roy helped me sit on the bench as I pushed my sweatpants down. He helped me take off my leg and it was all clinical. He was easily twenty years my senior and more like a brotherly figure to me. He’d been a former sprinter and Olympic level pole vaulter turned physical trainer. He knew the rigors of high level training better than anyone. Never once did I feel uncomfortable and it was probably his gruff no nonsense manner that helped.
“How long.” He asked wanting to determine my level of idiocy. He knew me better than I knew myself sometimes and my desire to train until I couldn’t move a muscle. We were both alike in that way. Not much had changed from the high school girl chasing her dreams of Olympic gold. I saw a goal and I went after it. My mom joked that she should have named me Tenacious instead of Kiara.
I bit my lip letting Roy do his job.
“Last weekend. At the 5k. I pushed the sprint at the end and I wore my other prothesis, not my sprinting blade. I ended up with some chaffing and a bruise.”
“Did you get it checked out?” Roy poked and prodded making not of every hiss. He looked up at me and clucked. “Of course you didn’t.”
“I have to get up to the orthopedic center, but school started and I don’t want to take time off. The girls are really close to bringing home that trophy.”
Roy grunted. He knew my level of commitment better than anyone. Asking me or telling me deviate from that plan wasn’t in my vocabulary. “We need to fit you for a better model for those hikes in the woods.” He prodded around checking my fit making humming noises as he went.
I grunted waiting for his assessment with bated breath. If Roy told me I couldn’t compete in the local 50 miler this spring, I would be devastated. Unsurprised, but crushed all the same. I’d been attacking my training especially hard since meeting a certain guy that had me twisted in the head and more sexually frustrated than I’d been in long time. Mad too. Mad that he even had the kind of power to evoke those feelings in me, and somehow I let it happen.
“No weights today. I want you off the leg as much as possible to heal this surface bruising. I’m going to pad your prosthetic, but I want you in the pool swimming laps, then the hot tub. Temperature on low with the jets. I don’t want you swelling, just relaxing.”
I gave Roy my unhappy face.
“No butts, no coconuts. Let’s go little lady.” Roy kept my leg and handed me a walker to stabilize myself. I cursed him under my breath with a smile. He knew his stuff, I didn’t have to like it, but it was the truth.
I didn’t see David down by the pool and figured he left which put my mind mildly at ease. This place had been my domain for so long and I wasn’t sure how I felt about sharing it. Logically, I knew he could come and go as he pleased, but this was one of my safe havens. He already got my weekdays at school and the football stadium track field. I wasn’t ready to share this or be nakedly vulnerable.
I saw Chase by the weights doing some strength training. I focused on my laps in the pool like a good girl and then got out making my way to the hot tub which was behind a privacy wall from the pool area. I got in and let the water massage over my body. Checking myself over, I saw more of the bruising now which throbbed in the water. The rhythmic gym music with the water pulsing felt good against my skin and I leaned back closing my eyes.
A deep voice interrupted my daydream of broad shoulders, tan skin, short hair, and muscles on top of muscles like a cherry on top of a sundae. “Roy said I might find you over here.”
“Jesus Christmas!” I startled splashing in the water gripping the sides of the hot tub. Turning my head, my eyes popped open hearing his voice much closer to my ear than I realized. He huffed sounding impatient like maybe he had been looking for me while his breath cooled against my neck giving me a shiver despite the warm water.
“Easy water sprite, I’m not getting in.” David chuckled splashing me back as he leaned closer crossing his arms over the edge. I focused on breathing in and out. His scent cut through the chlorine treated water and smelled like icy mints and crisp apple.
His presence was oddly comforting and yet still somewhat taboo as if we’d be in the halls of the high school about to be caught. I dubbed him my sneaky giant. Peering over the side, I saw he was barefoot on the tiles, brave too considering the use this gym got during football season with all the high school kids aiming to buff up trying to impress the college coaches scouting for talent.
“What are you doing here?” I wiped water from my face eyeing his wet t-shirt up and down. The man was stacked, I’d give him that.
“This is a rehab center, and I am in need of rehab.”
He looked fine to me, but what did I know.
“And you should really invest in some flip flops.”
“A little foot rot doesn’t scare me. I’ve trekked in the desert for weeks with the same pair of socks.” True to his word, he didn�
��t look phased in the least.
“That’s disgusting.” I said and he grunted back. It wasn’t my place to be judgmental, but my mouth ran ahead of brain as usual. “Are you here for mental or physical rehab?”
David disarmed me with his lop sided grin. Looking at the way his face crinkled, I wondered how often this man smiled if at all. He seemed to do it in my presence, but I wondered how many others got to see it.
“Mental. PTSD. Although, coming to a gym like this is good for me. I used to work out a lot anyway for football in high school. Clears the head I guess.” David ducked his head down like he was almost embarrassed or shy by telling me this.
“Oh.” Lost for words I didn’t know what else to say. We were at a stalemate. I didn’t like him encroaching on what I felt was my territory, but I was also compassionate enough to realize he needed this space as much as I did. Maybe I was a sucker for lost causes or guys built like brick houses with soft hearts.
“You come here a lot?” He stuck his hand in the water like he was testing the temperature. I wanted that hand on me, doing things he shouldn’t, and the thought unnerved me.
“At least three times a week during the off season. Roy is great. I’ve been working with him since, well, since everything.” I didn’t go into details. It didn’t seem like I needed to and David nodded like he understood. It was nice not having to explain. I could be normal and whole no matter what condition my body was in.
“How’s the water.” David plunged his hand deeper and then reached for me. I felt his fingers graze my outer thigh tracing a pattern before cupping me at the knee.
“It’s uh, great. Warm. Perfect.” My hand reached for his covering his thick fingers that dug gently into my skin prying my legs open.
“David!” I hissed snapping at him. He had a lot of nerve if he thought, well, never mind what he thought. It so was not happening at my physical rehab center I’d been coming to since I was a kid. Roy was like a big brother, uncle, and mentor wrapped up into one. I wasn’t letting David ruin this and told him so out loud.
“Relax. Roy has Chase doing some burpees. The guys are busy.” His fingers spider crawled up my leg, one slipped under the band of my suit, hooking and pulling.
“Let me go, army boy.” I pushed his hand away, but like the rest of him, he was immovable. Determined.
He got closer whispering against my neck. “Live a little Kiara. I won’t tell if you won’t.”
And there was the crux of the matter. The dare. The dumb reason I did things despite knowing better, I craved that excitement as much as he did. Unapologetically.
I snatched my hand away from his and watched his smirk morph into a full-fledged smile fit for a less sane man. David leaned against the tub and I tilted my head back to look at him. Hazel eyes winked with mischief. We were in a public place and I wasn’t sure what he thought was going to happen with my training partner and PT coach mere steps away.
“Do you ever relax?” His presence enveloped around me. Strong arms. Rippling muscles that had a lifetime of sinew and experiences I couldn’t begin to understand.
“No, I bet you don’t.” He chuffed resting his head on my neck while I sat in the bubbling water prisoner to his naughty ministrations.
“I do, but I feel like I have to keep moving and doing because I’ve been given a huge second chance at life.” I rest my arm on the edge of the tub and let go. David was intent on having this moment whatever it was with me and if I had to suffer through it trapped in a hot tub I guess things in life could have been worse.
“I can understand that.” His lips moved against my skin and I tilted my neck opening myself up to him. He was the quintessential predator. The alpha male returned home from war and unspeakable things. However, he was gentle in a quiet, waiting kind of way that made me want to sink down in the water, subvert myself under his gaze, and I was not that girl.
In my head, I was the girl who beat cancer and made smart choices when medicine and science failed me. I adjusted to my losses and wore a smile on my face despite everything. But when had I actually lived for me? That was much harder to quantify and I only had an inkling of what David knew.
We hummed quietly, the wallpaper poster on the wall across from us was of Sky Top Tower, a local scenic view one had to hike to in order to view the mountain ranges and the historic hotel that lay beneath its watchful tower. It was one of my favorite places, though right now I wouldn’t be hiking up there anytime soon with my leg as it was.
“Been up there?” I asked David who remained stoic flicking my clit in slow passes forcing shivers from me. My teeth scraped my bottom lip struggling to remain composed.
“Once during summer football camp. Our coach made us run up there and back down. Didn’t give us much time to take in the view so when I stayed up there a minute longer to scale the steps up the tower I had to run back down faster than the freshman so he wouldn’t know.”
“It’s beautiful.” I imagined him as a teenager, on the skinny side, gangly, but full of energy.
“It is, but it deserves more than a one minute gander and a sprint to the finish. Beauty like that requires time and appreciation.” His hands moved back down into the water and I got the distinct impression we weren’t discussing the view from Sky Top. One arm was over my shoulder and the other snaked underneath trapping me in a loose hold.
“David.” I warned him, my eyes darting back to the weight area I was unable to see from behind the screen.
“Relax, Kiara. Let me…appreciate you.”
I shivered feeling both curious and bold.
I whispered, “Roy.”
“Is busy setting Chase up on the weight machine. I checked. Now close your eyes.”
I settled against the smooth wall of the tub and closed my eyes keeping the image of Sky Top in the forefront. David’s large hands roamed. One cupped my breast over my tankini top while the other made a dangerous decent toward the apex of my thighs again. His large hand worked them open and I breathed in slowly feeling the thick pad of his fingers slip further down.
“David.” I whimpered letting him explore knowing full well the level of embarrassment of getting caught would be high.
“Shhh. I’ve got you.” His shushing only relieved me a tiny bit. The kiss to my neck melted me like butter on a hot summer day. I slid deeper into the water like a helpless goof with no muscle control. My senses heightened hearing the snap of metal weights and the low volume of conversation.
David probed further slipping his thick digit under the seam of my bikini bottom a second time. I lifted my ass a bit and spread my legs wider giving him unfettered access to my lady bits. The heat of the water made me flush as did his skillful fingers stroking up and down. The chlorine stung my nose and kept the sensations sharp while my body tensed.
“You’re so wet. Slippery and hot that has nothing to do with the water. Can I go deeper, Kiara? Nod your head baby if you want me pressing inside this soaked pussy.”
“David.” I growled, my hands gripping the side of the hot tub.
“Don’t be a prickly pear.” He bit down gently on my shoulder and the shudder of my body was all the permission he needed.
I nodded my head yes in a flurry of need. My jaw tightened with the rise of my impending orgasm and all he’s done is apply steady pressure at my center with his thumb stroking my clit in small tight circles driving me mad.
“Please. Push in.” I wanted to direct his fingers, but his arms around me keep me from participating at the level I desired to do so. Dirty David. That’s what I’d call him from now on in stolen moments like this.
His finger penetrated me to the first knuckle and I wanted to growl and splash because he’s funning me by holding back. His touch was deviant as he pressed further hooking that devil digit deeper while his thumb made the rounds over my clit.
“Damn it.” I hissed.
David’s shoulder jerked and I turned my face to his to read him the riot act when his mouth finally closed over mind in
a thought-killing kiss.
What day of the week was it?
Not a clue with his mouth devouring mine.
Who was the current president?
No one good, I knew that much.
What was I doing later this afternoon with my sister?
The hell with my sister, I would be far too incoherent to listen to her chatter when my body hummed like a loud supernova as his tongue swirled and tasted me.
David fingered me with the sole purpose of wringing out pleasure. A second finger joined the first and his hand was almost too big to fit between my legs situated as we were. His tongue jabbed in a matching rhythm and I pictured his cock hard and pulsing eagerly awaiting its turn to ravage me.
I wholly welcomed this idea and I whined when he slowed down to pull his fingers from my achy, quivering center.
“I need to come. Please.” I slipped in the tub and untangled us so I could press his hand against me again under the cover of the water. This time his fingers found me sliding in with ease. A tight fit, but one that worked me over quickly reaching the goal.
“You’re eyes go soft when you’re on the edge. It’s gorgeous.” He wrapped his hand around my neck redirecting the kiss. He dominated the moment like much of everything else he did. I loved it. I wanted more of it and even better if I didn’t have to admit it. I was stubborn like that.
“You kiss like you’re stealing my soul.” I whispered against his lips, our eyes locked on one another and despite the tingle on my neck prodding at me to recall my current surroundings, I couldn’t help but give in to another kiss.
David grunted through the next minute or so of tongue wrestling and heat flashes that had nothing to do with the hot tub.
“So I was thinking Burrito Barn after…” Chase’s voice halted and I pushed back from David. Water splashed over the side and his eyes narrowed on me first before giving Chase the time of day.