Texting Titan: A Second Chance, College Football Romance

by Kaci Rose

  I cup her breast over her T-shirt and rub my thumb across the hard peak of her nipple. This time her moan is louder, so I pull her down and kiss her jaw and along her neck to her collarbone, before sucking her nipple into my mouth over her shirt. I give it a good suck and a slight nip as she starts wiggling her hips against me again.

  I give the other nipple the same attention before grabbing her hips and helping her find a steady rhythm while grinding on my cock. She runs her hands under my shirt and up my chest, and all I can do is close my eyes and enjoy the sensation of her skin on mine. Her hands feel amazing on my chest. I can’t help the shivers that take over my body as she moves at an agonizing slow pace.

  When I can’t take it anymore, I flip her over onto her back. I stretch her arms above her head and grind into her.

  “Denver,” she gasps.

  “Yeah, baby?”

  “Don’t stop.”

  “I couldn’t if I tried.”

  I kiss down her neck and grind into her harder causing her back to arch, and I barely cover her mouth with mine before she lets out a moan with her climax. Her shorts are thin enough I can feel her pussy flutter with her orgasm and it’s enough to have me coming in my pants.

  I rest my head in her neck and work on catching my breath as she wraps her arms around my neck and plays with my hair which causes small trembles down my body.

  “You okay?” she whispers.

  I smile into her neck “Yeah, that is all you. God, I haven’t come in my pants since high school.”

  A blush creeps down her neck. “I’m sorry.”

  I kiss her neck and trail kisses up to her jaw. “No, that was the sexiest moment of my life, don’t apologize.” I can see it in her eyes that she doubts me.

  “I’m sure you’ve had better.” She looks away from me.

  What is running through her head? I’ve never come so hard in my life and she thinks I’ve had better?

  “Look at me,” I whisper. “Why would you say that?

  She shrugs, but when I don’t let her break eye contact, she takes a deep breath. “Kyle always said the reason I never got off was because I was a bad lay.”

  The amount of anger I have for Kyle right now is something I’ve never felt in my life. If we were back at school, I’d hunt him down and give him a proper ass beating. How dare he make this amazing and sexy woman doubt herself. How dare he tear her down like that when he is the one with problems. My heart bleeds that she has thought this about herself all these years. I can’t wait to prove to her what a sexy goddess she is.

  “Fuck, sweet girl, he is such an idiot. I’m not like him. I haven’t been with anyone since my high school girlfriend and she was my first. I kissed you that night and knew I wanted you. You. But by the time I found you again you were dating him. I waited. I know this will make me sound like an asshole, but I prayed it wouldn’t last. I knew what I felt from that one kiss and I haven’t kissed anyone since that night.”

  “Why did you walk away that night? He told me your girlfriend was calling.”

  I jerk back. “No, it was my mom. Who’s he?”

  She sighs. “Kyle.”

  “So much got messed up. If Mom had waited and called ten minutes later. If I’d gone with my gut that summer and moved her like I wanted to, we could have avoided all this. I would have gotten your name and number and it would have been us dating all this time. Kyle wouldn’t have been tearing you down for his own inadequacies. Baby, I wouldn’t have been able stop myself from coming just now, even if I tried. It was so powerful because it was you. It was us. This is still the sexiest moment of my life, better than anything I ever imagined.”

  With tears in her eyes, she pulls me down for the sweetest kiss that breaks my heart and heals it all over again. After a moment I pull back.

  “Avery,” I whisper against her lips. “Say you are mine. Sweet girl. I need you to be mine.” She smiles against my lips, but she doesn’t answer. I pull back and when she opens her eyes, her forehead wrinkles and she rubs her lips together like she does when she is thinking before she answers. I know she has been hurt before, and I know with everything that I am I will wait as long as she needs.

  “If you say no, just know I’m not going anywhere. I am not stopping. I’ve been waiting this long for you and I will keep waiting. I’m not giving up.”

  “Don’t break me, Denver,” she whispers.

  “Never, baby. Be mine.” I brush my lips against hers again.

  “Yes, as long as you’re mine, too.”

  “I’ve been yours from the moment of our first kiss.”

  With that, she smiles and in that moment under me, her blond hair spread out on her pillow, and that gorgeous smile on her face, she looks more beautiful than I have ever seen her.

  “Let’s head downstairs, I smell breakfast,” she says.

  I sit up and watch her bounce off to the bathroom and I can’t wipe the smile off my face. Avery Hayes is finally mine.

  Chapter 14

  Avery

  I don’t know what guys talk about when they say they need a cold shower. I took one and it hasn’t helped. The second I’m downstairs and my eyes land on Denver my body remembers what we did in bed and I’m on fire again.

  This is going to be a long day.

  They don’t see me yet and I stop when his mom starts talking.

  “Good morning, I guess? You can’t seem to wipe that smile off your face,” Gina says.

  “The best morning. She agreed to be mine.”

  “I know you like her and have for a while, so I’m happy for you. I like her too.”

  That makes me smile. I make some noise like I am just getting downstairs and enter the kitchen. “Good morning.”

  “Hey, sweetie. There are pancakes and coffee.”

  Denver hands me a cup of perfectly made coffee. “Thank you.”

  He kisses my temple. “Go sit down, I’ll make you a plate.”

  I smile as I head to the dining room. To have him take care of me like this warms my heart and makes me feel loved.

  Whoa, Avery. Let’s not break out the L word, we just officially got together this morning. But Titan’s texts fly to my mind all those weeks ago, him telling me he had been waiting for me. He wouldn’t wait over two years it if wasn’t serious, right?

  Before I can finish that train of thought, Denver sets a plate in front of me and sits down. He runs his hand over my thigh under the table. “Eat up, sweet girl.”

  The heat of his hand on my leg burns through my leggings. I swear he knows exactly what it’s doing to me because he smiles and brushes between my legs just slightly before pulling his hand away to eat breakfast.

  Once his mom sits down, we start talking about the plans for the day and about Carl, my mom’s ex-boyfriend, and his husband Simon.

  Just as we are finishing up, the doorbell rings. Gina grabs our plates and takes them to the kitchen. I stand to answer the door but first reach over and brush my hand across Denver’s crotch. “Game on,” I whisper in his ear, then walk away.

  It takes him a full minute before he can stand to join me in the hallway, and it makes me smile. Carl and Simon both greet me with a full hug.

  “Look at how grown up you are! I remember when you ran around the school, always with the biggest smile, and now you’re an adult.” Simon shakes his head.

  “I’m sorry about your grandma, she was the sweetest woman. One of the first people I came out to.” Carl offers me a sad smile.

  “I didn’t know that. But I do know she would have been supportive and by your side the whole way.”

  He nods. “That she was.”

  I invite them inside but when Carl looks a little hesitant, I can’t help but laugh.

  “My parents aren’t here; they won’t get back in town until Monday.”

  He relaxes and smiles. “How are your parents?”

  “They’re doing good. Enjoying traveling since I’ve been away at school. They did an Alaskan cruise this summer, befo
re coming home to spend summer vacation with me.” I trail off because our happy summer vacation ended when my grandma died.

  A strong hand wraps around my waist and I know Denver is there, offering me support. I wrap my arm around his and turn to him and smile.

  “This is...” I pause for a second and decide to go for it. He is spending his Christmas break here with me and helping me, I can give him this. “…my boyfriend, Denver.”

  The smile that takes over Denver’s face is worth it. He rests his forehead to mine for a minute then rubs his nose against mine before pulling back.

  “This is his mom, Gina. Guys, this is Carl and Simon.” Everyone exchanges hellos before Carl starts looking around.

  “Well, where do you want to start?” Carl asks, and I can tell he is excited. He loved some of the items my grandma collected.

  “Let’s start with the creepy mirror. Oh, I forgot to ask, will you be able to give me an idea of value for some of the things I plan to keep as well?”

  “Oh, of course! We are all yours for the day.” Simon glances around the house with an eager eye.

  I show him the mirror Denver helped me take down not long after we got here. They love the old, bubbled glass. By lunchtime they have loaded up twenty-seven items including the mirror, the bedroom set from the 4th bedroom, three display cabinets, one of which falls into the creepy furniture category. Also, two antique chairs, several end tables, paintings, and some lamps.

  “Please tell me you will stay for lunch,” Gina says as they load up the last lamp.

  “We’d love to!” Carl smiles and looks around some of things they’re not taking with them, while Simon helps Gina make sandwiches for lunch. Carl stops in front of the cabinet holding my grandpa’s fishing lure collection.

  “What plans do you have for these?”

  “I hadn’t thought about it. Mom and dad already took everything they wanted. I remember grandpa always collecting them, but he never used them. Why do you ask?”

  He laughs and Denver comes to look at the collection beside me.

  “These are very old. This one here,” he points to the one on the top row, “Came up for sale at an auction a few years back and sold for just over two thousand dollars.”

  I don’t think I heard him correctly. That’s more than that stupid creepy hutch was is worth!

  Denver coughs then whispers, “Holy shit.” Before looking at me then rushing to my side and giving me support, because I’m sure the shock is written all over my face.

  “What?” I ask Carl, just to clarify what he said. I can’t take my eyes off the fishing lures I watched my grandpa collect my whole life. There must be over a hundred of them in this cabinet.

  “Well, from what I know, the ones on this top shelf would be over a thousand each. A few I would need to look up. It seems he had them organized. These two middle shelves hold lures that are around five hundred price range. It looks like the ones on the bottom might have been for fun, they aren’t worth much, about a hundred each. I do see ones mixed on each shelf that he must have collected for himself that hold no value, like this Mardi Gras colored one.”

  “No, those are the ones I bought him.” My eyes tear up and Denver’s hands grip my hip. I lean into him. “He mixed my cheap gifts in with his expensive lure collection. I didn’t know.”

  “Avery, I bet those lures you gave him meant more to him than any of the others,” Denver whispers in my ear

  All I can do is nod. I know he’s right. Carl studies them a bit longer.

  “I’d do my research on each one, but at a rough guess, I’d say you have a one hundred k collection here.”

  I’m lightheaded and barely notice Denver guiding me to sit down on the couch. He kneels in front of me.

  He takes my face in both his hands. “Sweet girl, look at me.” When my eyes meet his, he whispers, “Breathe. I got you.” I nod and rest my forehead to his. A move that is quickly becoming comforting.

  “I didn’t know,” I whisper.

  “I know. I got you, I’m right here.”

  After a minute, I look up at Carl and he offers me a smile.

  “I need to think about it, but my grandma collected a few things I should have you take a look at after lunch.”

  Over lunch Carl shares stories of my grandparents and my mom. They even talk about my dad and that he doesn’t hide the fact he doesn’t like that Mom dated him. He has us laughing by the end of lunch. Gina offers to clean up while we keep going.

  “Well, next would be my grandma’s cookie jar collections, I guess.” I lead them to the butler’s pantry. “She would switch out the one on the counter every few months based on the holiday or her mood. My dad took a few and there are a few I’d like to keep, but I planned to get rid of the rest.”

  “Well, let’s pull them out and set them on the counter. I can take a look,” Carl says, but I can see a spark in his eye.

  We do just that and as I set the last one on the counter, he looks at me. “Do you know the story around this one?”

  He is holding up the creepiest of the jars. It’s the head of a black lady with a creepy smile on her face. It’s meant to be a representation the Mrs. Butterworth lady, but I think the artist was way off base.

  “She said she found it at a flea market in Virginia. She stopped putting it on the counter when I burst into tears once saying its eyes followed me and it scared me.” I smile. “I haven’t seen it again until now.”

  Carl looks at it and smiles. “This is a Gilner Mammy Cookie jar. On most of them, the lady is dressed in yellow, but this one is white which makes it very rare. Last one I saw at auction went for $1300, but there hasn’t been one for sale in over ten years.”

  Instantly Denver is behind me with his hands on my hips again offering me support, letting me know without words that he’s there for me.

  “But that isn’t the most expensive one of the bunch,” Simon adds.

  “No, of course not,” I murmur.

  “This Donald Duck one is extremely rare. It was made for the high-up Disney executives one year. We know of only four others and the last one sold for over ten thousand dollars.” Simon smiles at me.

  I lean back against Denver and close my eyes. I can’t process that these cookie jars from some of my favorite childhood memories are worth so much.

  I watch Carl pick up one and then another one “This crystal one is worth about two and a half.”

  “Two and a half dollars?”

  “No. Two and a half thousand.”

  “Oh my God, I remember that one being on the counter so many times. Just sitting there for me as a kid to take cookies from. I never thought anything of it and she never acted like any of these were worth any money.” I shake my head.

  “Those are the highest valued ones. You have a few worth a grand, some a bit less. If I had to price this collection as it sits? You ready?”

  I take a deep breath and feel Denver’s thumb rubbing circles on my hip, so I nod.

  “I’d have to say the collection is worth about two hundred and fifty thousand all in.”

  I squeeze my eyes closed again. “Dammit, Grandma.”

  “I was planning to sell most of these anyway. I just had no clue they were worth so much.”

  “Which ones are you looking to keep? I can give you a ballpark price on them for your records.”

  I point out a few and he nods. And fills out a form for me for my records. I place the ones I plan to keep back in the cabinet and then decide to call my dad. I walk to my grandpa’s study getting ready to sit on the couch when Denver sits first then pulls me on to his lap.

  “Thank you for being here. I’m just in shock.”

  “I bet. Call your dad, I’m not going anywhere.”

  My dad’s phone rings a bit before he picks up. “Hey, cupcake. Going well with Simon?”

  Normally the fact that my dad won’t say Carl’s name would make me smile, but not right now.

  “Did you know the fishing lures grandpa collecte
d were antiques?”

  “I knew they were old, why?”

  “Well, I just got an estimated value of one hundred thousand for the set.”

  “Holy Shit.” The fact that my dad just cussed with me on the phone says everything I need to know. He never cusses in front of me or any lady, if he can help it.

  “Yeah, I haven’t touched them. I don’t know what to do with them. But it gets better. Grandma’s cookies jars? The set as it stands right now is worth two hundred and fifty thousand”

  I listen to my dad curse more than I had ever heard him my whole life.

  “I had already decided which ones I was going to keep and had planned to get rid of the rest. I guess I will just put them up for consignment. You got the ones you wanted, right?”

  “Yes, cupcake, we got everything we wanted from the house already.”

  “Anything else I should have them look at before they leave?”

  “Maybe the books in grandpa’s study? They are all leather-bound, but I have no idea which ones are new or old. I never paid much attention to them.”

  “Okay.” I look around the study at the bookshelves filled with leather-bound books.

  “You okay there?”

  “Yeah I brought someone with me who I want you to meet. He and his mom are helping with the house. I hope it’s okay they have Christmas with us.”

  “His mom?”

  “Yes, Dad, I brought my boyfriend home.” I watch Denver’s eyes light up.

  “How long have you two been dating?”

  “Well the dating part is new, but we have known each other since freshman year and been friends for a while. He was planning to come help me as friends before the boyfriend thing happened.”

  “Okay, I can’t wait to meet him. Here’s your mom.”

  “New boyfriend?!” Mom screeches, making me laugh. “I want the details and I need a picture.”

  “Mom.” I laugh.

  “Okay, Okay. What are your plans for the weekend?”

  “Well once we finish here, I’m officially going to go into shock. Then tomorrow night we have dinner next door.”

  “Oh, I love the Burns family. Tell them hello from us.”