by Smith, Mary
“So, how was the tutoring today with Andrew?” Wes asked, as he used his chopsticks to eat his food.
“It was fine.” I wasn’t sure why he was asking, but I wasn't going to tell him anything about my sessions with Andrew. That was between him, his father, and me.
“Um, why didn’t you want me to open your beer?” he probed.
“I didn’t want you to slip something in it,” I said boldly.
“Oh, did you think I would?” His eyes widened with surprise.
“I don’t know you that well, Wes. No offense, but a girl always needs to err on the side of caution.”
He held his hands up in defense. “You’re right. I have a younger sister, and I hope she would be as cautious.”
“You have a younger sister?”
He nodded. He began to tell me all about his sister and mother. He didn’t know his father because he walked out on the family when Wes was only a baby. His mother was a nurse who worked third shift at a local hospital to ensure she didn’t miss any of her kids’ activities.
Wes went on to tell me that he started skating when his mother took him to a skating party. He was five, and loved being on the ice loved it from the moment he touched the ice. He smiled as he told me the story of how he had to beg his mother to let him join a pee wee hockey league.
“So, why a goalie?” I asked as we started doing dishes together.
“It was the position my mother thought I would be least likely to get hurt.” He handed me the dish towel to dry my hands. “How about another beer and a movie?” he asked, changing the subject.
“Yes and yes.”
He handed me an unopened beer and we sat on the couch. He flipped on the TV, and of course The NHL Network was the first thing to pop up on the screen.
“What do you want to watch?” He pointed to the DVDs.
“Well, considering all I see is horror and action movies, how about we listen to some music and talk?”
He flipped to a Music Choice channel, and set the remote down. “Okay, I told you about me, what about you? Where did you grow up?”
“A small farming town in Illinois.”
“Oh, you’re a farm girl?” He chuckled.
I shrugged. “I guess you could say that.” I went on to tell him that my father had several hundred acres of land, and I would help him every year. I told him that my mom was a waitress most of my life, but had recently decided to stay at home. My mom couldn’t stand on her feet for long periods of time like she used to. My parents had me later in their lives, and were much older.
“Any siblings?” he inquired.
I never knew how to answer this anymore. If I said yes, there were more questions; if I said no, I didn’t have to answer any more questions, but it made me sad. I went with the latter, and shook my head.
“Hey, how about a dance?” he asked sweetly.
“A dance?”
“I know I can dance.” He stood up and held his hand out. I set my beer down and took his hand. He led me to the middle of the room. There wasn’t much space, but enough for us to sway to the music.
I wrapped my hands around his neck and laid my head on his chest. He gently placed his hands on the small of my back. I inhaled his scent as we moved to the sound of the music. It was woodsy and rustic. It almost reminded me of being in a log cabin, with all the fresh wood around.
I felt his strong hands rub up and down my back, and it sent a shiver through my body. I had to admit, it was nice to be in someone’s arms. I couldn’t remember the last time. My relationship with Brandon, if you call it that, was strictly sex now. I did go on a couple dates the first year of college, but I wasn’t one to simply jump into anyone’s bed, no matter how horny I was.
I looked up at him as the next song started. His dark eyes were full of lust. I licked my lips and pursed them a little bit. I saw the corners of his mouth turn up slightly. He moved his hand from my back, and cupped my face. His thumb caressed my cheek, and my breathing sped up.
I felt my eyes flutter as he leaned down to my lips. He brushed lightly against them at first. I opened my mouth slightly when he pushed his lips against mine. I tasted the bitterness of beer on his tongue as I opened wider for him. I ran my hands through his soft hair, messing up his faux hawk. I rested them on the back of his neck, digging my nails into his skin.
He moaned, and I felt him guide me over to the couch. When I reached it, I lay down, pulling Wes on top of me. I spread my legs, and he cradled himself in between them. It was my turn to moan as I felt how hard he was. I let my body take over and rock against him.
Wes moved from my swollen lips and kissed down my neck. I felt his hand come up my thigh, grasping my ass. I panted as he nipped and sucked my neck. He pushed into me harder as his hands traveled up my dress. I stopped him as he slid his index fingers inside the top of my leggings. He looked up at me in confusion.
“For your information, we’re not having sex tonight.” I gave him a stern look. I wanted him to know that I was serious.
“I’m not expecting that,” he said, sweetly kissing the top of my nose.
“Just making sure.” I removed my hands from his neck and undid my belt. I smiled at him before I captured his lips again.
His hand snaked up my sweater dress, to my lace bra. He tenderly pulled it down, and tugged at my nipple. I shot of pleasure pulsated through me. I broke out of the kiss, lifted my hips, letting Wes raise the dress up more.
He placed my breast in his mouth, sucking my nipple in between his teeth. He removed my other breast and began to work me into a frenzy.
“Wes,” I panted. I felt my body tighten up. Are you kidding me? Is he really driving me this crazy with only his lips on my breast? Wes rocked his hips against me, and I moaned louder. He kissed his way over to my other breast, and I panted louder with each swirl of his tongue and nip from his teeth.
Suddenly, he stopped, and rested his forehead against mine. His breathing was labored, and his eyes were closed.
“Wes,” I panted.
“I had to stop,” he said, breathing heavily.
“Did I do something wrong?” I didn’t think t I had, although I was in a sexual fog, so I couldn’t be sure.
“No, Katie. I had to stop because I was about to lose myself right here, with my jeans still on.” He chuckled, opening his eyes and looking at me.
I giggled. “Don’t worry, I was about there myself.”
He softly pecked my lips. As he sat up, I adjusted my bra back into place, and my dress. My eyes fell to the bulge in his pants. Of course he was huge; he was a gigantic hockey player. My ache for him intensified. If I was a real slut, I’d rip my clothes off right now and let him have his way with me. Damn me and my rule of no sex on the first date. I mentally kicked my own ass.
“You know, Andrew is having a party tonight. Did you want to go over there and hang out with your teammates?” I figured if I stayed in that apartment much longer, I would break my first rule.
Wes shrugged. “I don’t really feel like it, but I’ll go if you want to.” I could see that he really didn’t want to.
“Hey, how about that movie then?” If he didn’t want to go to Andrew’s, then I would stay here with him.
He cocked his eyebrow at me. “You said all I had was horror and action, so what could you possible want to watch?”
“No horror, but I could handle an action movie, if you hold me close,” I said flirtatiously
“No problem.” Wes got up and suggested a few titles. I picked the one that I had heard of before because of Lindsay’s obsession with the actor Jason Statham.
Wes put his arm and around me, and I snuggled up next to him as we watched the movie, but I felt my eyes growing heavy. The last few days had been long for me, but that never stopped me from staying up late before. I’m not sure if it was because I was all curled up to him. His warm body heat sent me into a slumber.
**
I was on a cloud, a large, billowy cloud. My eyes flickered open
to the dim sunlight on my face. The sun? Why was the sun on my face? I propped myself up on my elbows, and looked around. This wasn’t my bedroom. I looked to my right, and I was in the bed alone. I removed the covers and looked at my fully clothed body. The only things that were missing were my boots and my belt. I had to be at Wes’ place still.
I slowly and quietly got out of the bed, and went out to the living room. Right there on the couch, with no shirt on, was Wes. His broad shoulders and hard chest made my mouth go dry. He looked like a Greek god. The rest of him was covered up, but my imagination had kicked into high gear thinking about what might be underneath.
Okay, get a hold of yourself. You have things to do. I went straight to the bathroom. I didn’t have anything to freshen up with, so I used Wes’ mouthwash, and grabbed a washcloth to wash my face. Luckily, I had my small makeup bag with me, and I could add a little bit. I didn’t want him to wake up and my horrible morning makeup less face scares him.
When I finished, I thought how sweet it was of Wes to put me in his bed. On top of that, he didn’t try to take advantage of me. Most college guys wouldn’t be like that. He didn’t make me feel like a tease, or bad, for sticking to my “rule” of no sex on the first date.
I opened the bathroom door when I finished, and ran right into Wes’ hard chest. I stumbled, but his strong arms caught me, balancing me.
“Oh my God, I’m so sorry,” I blurted out .
He chuckled. “It’s fine.” He didn’t release my arms, but instead gently squeezed.
I should have backed up, but instead I looked deeper into his eyes. “I didn’t mean to wake you.” I broke eye contact, and stepped back.
“Oh, you didn’t. I usually get up around this time on Sunday to go running.”
I nodded. “Um, thank you for letting me take over your bed. You could have woken me up and taken me home.”
“I could have.” He smirked at me. He looked so handsome with his fresh bed head and naked chest. “But I wanted to see how hot you looked in the morning.”
I giggled and rolled my eyes. “Oh, Heidi Klum should look out?”
“Yes, she should.” His eyes roamed up and down my body, making my stomach quiver.
“Hey.” I stepped closer and placed my hands on his shoulders. “I had a lot of fun last night.”
“I did, too,” he said softly.
We stood there for a moment just looking at each other, my ache for him to be between my legs growing.
“Let me get ready and drive you back over to your place. I have a lot to do today, and I’m sure you do, too.” I nodded, stepping aside so he could enter the bathroom.
I went into the living room, where I had left my purse and cell phone. I checked my messages, and I had several from Lindsay. She had probably been worried about me. I texted her and let her know I would be home soon.
The one message I didn’t expect was from Andrew:
Hope you’re coming over
I wasn’t sure what to think about that, except that he was drunk-texting me, or sent it to me by mistake.
Wes came out of the bathroom, hair fixed, and dressed. I was sitting on the couch when he walked into the living room and reached his hand out to me.
I gave him a tiny grin and took his hand. When we got to his truck, he helped me inside and drove me to my apartment. He held my hand the whole time, and we listened to the radio.
Wes helped me out of the truck as he parked behind the BMW, and walked me up to my door, still not releasing my hand. I never gave much thought to the significance of someone holding my hand. In high school, Brandon did it to show everyone that we were a couple. The few dates I did have last year, there was no hand holding. But with Wes it was pleasurable.
How about I call you later and see when we can get together again?” He lightly touched my cheek.
“I would like that.” I got up on my tiptoes and kissed him hard, letting him know that I really wanted him to call me.
Chapter 6 – Andrew
“Andrew, thank you very much for your generosity,” Father Michael said, shaking my hand again.
“Don’t worry about it. My mother always taught me to give to others.” I told him, “Will that work?”
He nodded. “That’s perfect. Good luck on Friday with the game.”
I told him thank you and left the church. When I got into my car, I took a deep breath and rubbed my temples. I did one too many shots again last night. I should have known better, again. At least I wasn’t too far gone to send Amber on her way home. I didn’t want to deal with her.
I started the car and headed to grab some food for myself and something for Katie. I knew that she would be coming by soon, and I wanted to get home before she arrived, maybe have time to take a quick nap.
When we worked together yesterday, we got so much done, but that was just one session, and one class. There were still four more that I needed to catch up on.
As I drove up to my house after picking up the food, Katie’s BMW was parked in front of the house. Well, so much for resting, I thought. The moment I opened the door, I saw her at the dining room table, books out, and ready to go.
“Hey, where were you? Why are you all dressed up?”
“I had some things that needed to be handled this morning.” I set the food on the table. “Hungry?”
“Starving.” She grabbed the breakfast burritos from the bag. She seductively moaned as she took a bite.
“I’m guessing by that sound, you like it?” I couldn’t help the twitch in my pants when she did it again.
“It’s so good, you have no idea.”
I chuckled. “I’m going to change and then we can get started.” I jogged up the stairs to my bedroom. I changed out of my suit and threw on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt.
As I came back down the stairs, I heard Katie laughing. The twitch in my pants was more pronounced this time. One night of no sex and a laugh turned me on. When I hit the bottom step, I saw Franks and Lindsay sitting at the table. I’m guessing that Lindsay stayed the night with Franks, again.
“What’s so funny?” I asked as I sat at the table.
“I don’t know.” Franks shrugged.
“I was teasing Katie about spending the night at Wes’ place,” Lindsay informed them.
Instantaneously, my blood boiled. Katie spent the night at Wes’ place? I couldn’t believe it.
“Wes Crown?” Franks asked, and then looked at me. He knew the history that we had together. I didn’t say anything. I couldn’t, because I would have exploded right then.
“Yes,” Katie blushed slightly. As hard-nosed as she was, I didn’t think she blushed at all. It made her look even cuter.
“We need to study,” I said abruptly. I didn’t want to talk about Wes, and I sure as hell didn’t want to talk about Katie spending the night with him.
“We were heading out anyway.” Franks got up and Lindsay followed.
Katie laid out all of books and jumped right into tutor mode. I could see her grow serious in her expressions and I know that it was time to start. I tried to focus, but my mind wondered to Wes Crown. I hated him. I hated him even more now that I was on the same team with him.
“Earth to Andrew,” Katie said, bringing me out of my hate-fueled fog.
“Yeah?”
“Did you hear anything I said?”
I took a breath and focused back on her. “Sorry, my mind was somewhere else.”
“I figured you would be more hung over, considering you didn’t have to practice today.” She pushed my laptop closer to me so I could start on my paper for our business ethics class.
I didn’t say anything to her. I'd let her think whatever she wanted about my drinking habits and my Sunday routine.
Katie jumped back into explaining the details that the paper needed, and I started typing. She helped me articulate my thoughts, and answered any questions I had.
A few hours later, I called it quits. I had typed and read so much, I was spent. I didn’t thi
nk I could look at one more word. I knew that there was still a lot to do, but I needed a nap.
“I’m done,” I announced.
“I figured as much. How about we take a break and grab some food?” she suggested, closing her book.
“Together?” I asked, surprised.
“I figured you understood the word ‘we’?” she said sarcastically.
“Well, let’s go.” I got up and grabbed my keys. She gathered up her bag and followed me out to the car.
As I drove across town to a local sandwich shop, Katie told me about the busy week that was ahead of me. Each time she talked about it, I just thought about the game on Friday. It was the opening game of the season. Everyone would be watching me. I knew that my father’s money was the one reason I wasn't sitting on the bench, and I needed to get my ass in gear to pull up these grades. I had thought about buckling down, and getting my life in order, but now I had to. If I didn’t, then I would never make it into the NHL. What would my mom have said then? I knew she wasn’t proud of me because of everything that I was doing. I had been given a last chance, and I needed to take it.
“Are you okay?” Katie asked after I parked the car.
“Yep,” I said.
We walked in and grabbed a seat. The waitress took our drink order, and we quietly browsed the menu. When she brought the drinks back, we ordered our food. I got a double bacon cheeseburger, and Katie got a chicken sandwich with Swiss cheese and avocados.
“So, are you pumped for the game this week?” she asked.
I nodded. “I really am.”
“May I ask you a question?” She looked me straight in the eye.
“Sure.”
“Why did Franks look at you when I said Wes’ name today?”
Shit. I stared at her; I didn’t know what to say. Do I tell her the truth? Or should I just bypass the subject altogether? It wasn’t like she couldn’t use Google and find out what happened.
I cleared my throat. “Um, I guess it was because he’s my backup.”