by J. Nathan
* * *
“I missed you tonight,” I said.
Marin’s face filled the screen on my phone. It had been a week since I’d seen her in person. We may’ve talked every day, but it wasn’t the same as actually being there. “Oh yeah?” Her voice was raspy, her eyes sleepy as she too lay in bed.
I’d woken her up, but now that I had her on the phone there was no way in hell I was hanging up. “That’s where you were supposed to say you missed me and all my hotness too.”
She laughed. “Of course I miss you.”
“That’s better.”
“So, have there been any girls trying to move in on my man?” she asked.
“Your man? I like the sound of that.”
“Is that you avoiding my question?”
I laughed. “Fine. I had to beat them off with a stick. There were definite tears shed, but I escaped unscathed.”
She laughed.
Damn, I missed that laugh.
“I have something for you,” she said.
I lifted my brows. “Oh, yeah?”
She nodded, a devilish twinkle in her eyes. “Are you watching?”
“Watching what?”
She moved the phone away from her face, pulling it back so I could see she was wearing a tight-as-sin Alabama T-shirt torn near her cleavage—revealing way more than I’d ever let any other guy see.
I could feel myself getting hard. I usually took care of business after we spoke. But maybe she’d be up for some fun tonight.
“Do you like?” she asked, moving the phone back so I could see her face.
“Are you kidding? You look hot.”
She laughed. “Well, that’s not all.”
“There’s more?”
She nodded. “Hold on.” She’d clearly gotten up. The screen bounced all around her room. When it came into focus, she was standing in front of her bedroom mirror holding the phone so I could see her back. Sweet-baby-Jesus. My last name and number were on the back of the shirt. And her ass looked damn good in my favorite red thong. She knew just what to do to get me all hot and bothered when I was almost two hundred miles away from her.
“Now would be a good time for that phone sex,” I said.
Her sleepy laugh carried through the phone before she lay back down on her bed with her face filling the screen. “So, you like your surprise?”
“Like it? I love it.”
“I had it made. I thought they’d sell them, but I guess that’s against university policy or something to make money off you guys.”
“That or they wouldn’t be able to keep my number in stock.”
She laughed again and all I wanted to do was wrap my arms around her and hold her.
Okay, so maybe I wanted to fuck her silly then hold her. Regardless, what it boiled down to was me wanting her. In every way possible. And that notion scared the fuck out of me. I was nineteen. I was in my prime. I could have any girl I wanted. But the one I wanted was three hours away with a kid and a soon-to-be ex-husband. Strange how things happened. But it had happened. And I considered myself one lucky son of a bitch. So I was gonna do everything in my power not to screw it up. “You do realize you’re not wearing that to my games,” I informed her.
“Why? I think it makes my boobs look great.”
“That’s exactly why you’re not wearing it,” I growled.
She laughed. “I’m joking. It’s for your eyes only.”
“Damn straight, woman.”
She rolled onto her side with her cheek resting on her pillow and her eyelids drooping with sleep as she stared at me. “Did you have fun tonight?”
I rolled onto my side, wanting to feel like I was there with her, at least for a little while. “It was fun hanging out with Caden again.”
“After hanging out with a five-year-old all summer, you were probably starved for guy talk.”
“You know I loved every second of that.”
She nodded. “So, did he.”
“Is he getting excited for school to start?”
“Yeah. I bought him a backpack. You’ve gotta see how cute he looks with it on. The thing’s almost as big as he is.”
I laughed, imagining him on his first day, all excited but nervous.
“You tired?” she asked.
“Yeah. Football’s been kicking my ass this week. I’m not in as good of shape as I thought I was.”
“My body would beg to differ.”
I smiled, loving how she could work those comments in as well as I could. Guess I was rubbing off on her.
“I’m sure it’ll get easier. Because, from what you tell me, you’re pretty amazing on the field.”
I feigned surprise. “I told you that?”
Her sleepy laughter carried through the phone, filling my otherwise empty room with the much needed sound. “Only a hundred times.”
I snickered. “I’m also amazing in the bedroom.”
“Yeah,” she sighed. “That’s why it’s a shame you’re not here.”
“I don’t need to be there to make you moan.”
Her breath hitched and her eyes widened.
“Lay on your back,” I said as blood rushed to my balls.
Marin gnawed on her bottom lip, contemplating my words for all of two seconds before she held the phone above her so I could see her face as she did as told. “Okay.”
My voice lowered. “Now take your hand and slide it down your stomach so I can see.”
She tilted the phone so I could see her hand glide over her stomach and down to the waistband of her thong.
“Now slip your hand inside.”
Her hand crept slowly under the band until I knew her fingertips were right where we both wanted them.
“Don’t move them.”
She gasped. “Why not?”
“Because I said so.”
She snickered.
“Now, I want you to use your finger and glide it around as you picture me there with you. Picture my face between your legs and my mouth on you.”
I watched her finger moving under the almost-see-through material of her thong, and instantly I was hard as a rock.
“That’s my tongue, Marin. Around and around until the throbbing becomes too much. Until I know your body is aching for me to do more. And then, when you think I’m about to ease that ache, I breathe you in. Because your scent destroys me every fucking time.”
Marin whimpered.
“Now I want you to add another finger and push them both inside.”
Her breath rushed out of her. “I can’t hold the phone anymore.”
I smirked, loving that I could affect her regardless of the distance between us. “Put it beside you.”
She did and I was granted a prime view of her ceiling.
“Are you pushing them in and out?” I asked, though her heavy breathing filling the silence told me she was.
“God, yes.”
“Tell me how it feels?”
“Not as good as you,” she said all raspy and hot. “You’re so much bigger.”
“Damn straight I am, baby,” I laughed.
A cross between a laugh and her breath rushed out of her.
“And you like me inside you?”
“Yessss.”
“You’re close aren’t you?”
Her soft purr told me she was.
“I want you to move your fingers back to your clit. Circle it like my tongue would. Around and around and around.”
“Oh, God.”
“Keep going, Marin. Feel my mouth. I’m just about to suck on it and make you see stars.”
And just like that, she moaned my name. Her shaky breaths dragged in and out of her.
And even though I was hard as a fucking boulder and alone in my room, I couldn’t believe how satisfied I felt to be able to bring her such pleasure.
Marin eventually picked up her phone and her flushed cheeks filled my screen. “Wow.”
I laughed. “I promised we’d keep having fun. And I always del
iver.”
She smiled, but her heavy eyelids told me she needed to sleep.
“Thank you,” I said, wishing I was there with her.
She cocked her head, confused by my words. “I should be thanking you.”
“Oh, you will as soon as I see you again,” I laughed. “But I meant thanks for being so amazing.”
She blinked a long drawn out blink. “Right back at ya, Forester.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Marin
Damn Charles. Even though he promised CJ he’d be there, I knew he wouldn’t show up. I just knew it.
I scanned the large crowd gathered outside CJ’s school. Eager parents snapped pictures of their kids while CJ and I snapped a couple selfies before I had him pose for a few shots alone.
A teacher stepped out of the main door and the crowd quieted. “We’re going to start with kindergarten. Once your name is called, please move to the side of the building and form a line.”
My heart began to race. This was it. This was the day my little boy began school. His first step to becoming whatever it was he wanted to be in life. The whole idea was bittersweet for me. It was the start of a new chapter in his life. And in mine. I began school the following week and a part time job in the psychology department doing clerical work.
I gripped CJ’s hand and straightened my shoulders, trying to be strong.
A hand slipped into my free hand. My head shot to my right, completely expecting it to be Charles. My breath caught in my throat as Trace leaned in and planted a quick kiss on my lips, stunning me still.
He moved over to CJ whose face lit up as he squatted down in front of him and placed his hands on his shoulders, looking him right in the eyes and uttering words I couldn’t hear. Whatever they were, they brought a huge smile to CJ’s face.
Tears glazed my eyes as Trace stood and dropped his arm around my shoulders.
He’d shown up. Right when I needed him most, he’d shown up.
The teacher continued rattling off her list of names. She finally called CJ. He turned and wrapped his arms around me, his small arms holding on tightly. Then he released me and moved to Trace, doing the same. I swiped away at the corners of my eyes to stop the tears from falling as I watched CJ waddle off with his enormous backpack.
Trace pulled me into his side. I went willingly, wrapping my arms around his waist. I needed his strength more than I realized. “You did good,” he whispered before dropping a kiss on the top of my head.
“I can’t believe you came.”
“I wouldn’t miss his big day for anything.”
I pulled back and looked up at him. “But what about practice?”
“It’s not until five.” He dropped his forehead to mine. “And if you haven’t figured it out by now, I want to be here for you and CJ.”
We both turned just in time to see CJ and his classmates follow the teacher into the building, disappearing from view. I released a long breath. My little boy was gone. And Trace had shown up to be my rock. I hadn’t asked him to. He just knew what I needed. “I’ve missed you.”
He quirked his brow. “How much?”
I tilted my head. I hadn’t seen him in over two weeks, so my eyes absorbed his features. God, I’d missed his eyes. His dimples. His cocky smirk. “Do you have to head back right now?”
His eyes actually twinkled. “I could be persuaded to stay a little while longer.”
I laughed as he led me away from the crowd and toward the parking lot, determined to get me alone.
From what he told me later that night, he made it back just in time for practice.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
SEPTEMBER
Marin
I rushed out of the building where I worked. It was still hot as hell in Alabama, so the pants and blouse I wore to work stuck to my skin as I hurried across campus toward my Group Counseling class. My phone rang in my pocket. I slipped it out and my cousin Jerry’s name filled the screen. Since CJ returned from his father’s last month, I hadn’t spoken to Jerry which gave me hope that Charles realized it was hard work being a single parent. I lifted the phone to my ear. “Hi, Jerry.”
“Hey. Sorry I haven’t been in touch. But things have been at a standstill until now.”
“Until now? What does that mean?”
“Charles wants you to call off the divorce.”
A huge belly laugh burst out of me. I needed to stop at the nearest bench to sit and control my laughter. “That’s hysterical. Does he want us to renew our vows too?”
“He’s serious,” Jerry said, his grim tone stopping my laughter. “He’s contesting the divorce.”
I stilled. “What does that even mean?”
“It means you can move forward with the divorce, but it’ll take time and money to respond to the petition, and gather subpoenas and depositions. I’m not gonna lie. It’s stressful and will end with a judge and a hearing.”
I sat there staring out at the blur of students passing by. What I wouldn’t have given to be an undergrad again. To have no worries. No responsibilities. No ex who won’t disappear. “He can do whatever he wants,” I told Jerry. “Just make it clear I’m not calling off the divorce.”
“He seems ready to drag it out,” Jerry warned.
“Then let him. It’s still over.”
Trace
Caden and I walked into the bookstore with the list of books we needed for our classes. Gauging by the line wrapped around the store, most of the school had returned to campus and headed straight there.
Heads turned as we made our way down the first aisle, passing the anatomy, anthropology, and astronomy books neither of us needed for our majors. We were used to the attention we received. All the stares when we entered a room. All the whispers when we passed by.
Grady, our annoying as hell right tackle, appeared out of nowhere and squeezed between us, throwing his arms around our shoulders. “Have you seen all the fresh meat in here?”
Caden and I made fast work of ducking out from his arms.
“Caden’s taken, dude,” I said, trying to distance myself from him. “And Finlay would kick your ass if she heard you talking like that with him.”
Grady grimaced. He and Finlay, who was not just Caden’s girlfriend but also the team’s water girl, had gotten off on the wrong foot last year. And she was the only one I ever saw put the three-hundred-pounder in his place.
“And what about you, Grady?” Caden asked him. “Thought you and Yvette had a thing going?”
“Yeah, well, she found some statistics geek she said she has more in common with.”
“No way?” I pretended to be surprised.
Grady shrugged. “Ah well, that just leaves me available for all the hot freshmen who need an older guy to show them the ropes.”
“More like the way to the dining hall,” I said as Caden burst out laughing.
Grady’s attention quickly moved to a cute little redhead that walked by. He abruptly ditched us to follow her in the opposite direction.
“He can be such a douche,” I said.
“Ah.” Caden pulled a book off the shelf and checked the price on the back. “He’s not all bad.”
“Hey, Forester.”
I glanced to my right. A girl I’d hooked up with last year stood beside me in her shorter-than-short cutoffs that would undoubtedly reveal her ass cheeks once she walked away. “Hey.”
“Tara,” she offered.
“I knew that,” I lied.
She shot me a knowing grin, probably because not only did she know it was a lie, but she also knew what I looked like naked. “We should hang out again some time,” she said.
“Oh...yeah.” I fumbled for the words. I hadn’t considered how to maneuver when it came to all the willing females I’d be around. Did I make it known I was in a relationship, or just keep myself out of awkward situations? I’d never had a girlfriend before. These were uncharted waters for me. “I’ve got your number,” I assured her, like that said it all.
&nbs
p; “Yeah. I hope you use it.”
I smiled, feeling like a complete douche. I wasn’t purposely letting on that I was single, but I didn’t come right out and tell her it ain’t happening either. Was I not ready to be committed to only one girl? Was I purposely sabotaging what Marin and I had? Were my feelings not as strong as I thought they were?
“See you around,” Tara said, walking away so I could get a clear shot of her ass cheeks.
Caden shook his head. “The Forester charm never ceases to amaze me. I’ll meet you at the registers.”
“All right.” I turned to the shelf beside me and scanned the titles for the book I needed for biochemistry. Thanks to the guilty knot twisting in my gut, I suddenly couldn’t focus. I had a good thing going with Marin. But I hadn’t considered what it would be like to be back on campus. In the past it was a free-for-all. I had no one holding me back. Is that what Marin meant when she sat me down? Did she realize what school would be like for me? All the girls? All the temptation? Was she already braced for the end?
I liked to believe I was a stand-up guy, but would keeping it in my pants be more difficult than I initially thought? I wasn’t some manwhore. I didn’t need sex every night. Well, maybe I did, but I could control the urge because I wanted this thing with Marin to work. It had been so easy at home. But would the distance destroy us? I’d worked so hard to get her to want to be with me. I’d be no better than her ex if I wasn’t strong enough for her. For us.
Once I found my biochemistry book, I headed three aisles over to find my sports medicine book. My phone vibrated in my pocket. I pulled it out, smiling when I saw CJ’s name on my screen. I lifted it to my ear. “What’s up, buddy?”
“Hi, Trace. I won my flag football game today.”
“Buddy, that’s awesome.” I still couldn’t get over the fact that he’d signed up for football because he wanted to be like me.
“Yeah. I almost had a touchdown but some big kid pulled my flag on the five yard line.”
“That’s okay. You’ve got plenty of time to score touchdowns.”
“That’s what Mom said.”
I couldn’t wipe the grin off my face. “I’m so proud of you.”