X's and O's (A SECOND CHANCE SPORTS ROMANCE)

by Nikki Wild

  “You fucked him at our house?”

  “God, Billy, don’t be so dramatic! Besides, it’s my house, too!”

  “Go on,” he said, his voice weary and dry.

  “He’s not so bad, actually.”

  “Yeah, right.”

  “People can change…”

  “Yeah? So did he?”

  “What?”

  “Did he change? What’s the deal? All of a sudden, you’re back together?”

  “What? God, no…it’s not…it’s not like that…,” I replied, lowering my voice.

  What was it like? I wondered. I shook my head, not ready to think about it yet. It was too soon to even question things like that, wasn’t it? It was probably just a one-time thing. For old time’s sake, right? I mean, we really didn’t even have plans to see each other again. He’d tried to pin me down on his way out the door, but after having sex with him, I’d quickly become worried that Billy would come home and all I could think about was getting him out of there as quickly as possible.

  I’d still not even told him the Billy and I lived together, a fact I was a little weirded out by. Somehow, it just never came up in conversation. During the lulls between subjects, I just hadn’t found a way to say it.

  Sure, I guess right after sex would have been as good a time as any, but all I could think about was getting caught in bed with Toby, and I just wanted him gone.

  I needed time to think. About what this all meant.

  And if it meant nothing, then what was the point of letting him in on the details of my life?

  Time, I just needed time.

  So, maybe I was a little abrupt. Perhaps making another date was in order. But if I did that, did that mean we were dating?

  You see my problem, don’t you?

  It was just too much to think about…and yet that’s all I could do.

  “Hello? Earth to Haley?” Billy’s voice broke through the tornado wreaking havoc in my brain.

  “Oh, sorry,” I said, trying to shake myself back into reality.

  “Look, do what you want with Toby. I just don’t want you to get hurt. You’re right, people change.”

  “Thanks, Billy,” I said, smiling gratefully at him.

  “You know I love you,” he said, pulling me in for a hug. “I should get back inside. Scott is on the warpath today.”

  “Yeah, he’s mad at me too. I’ve not brought in any great photos lately.”

  “The ones of Toby and the kids were nice.”

  “Yeah, but the lighting in there was all weird.”

  We made our way back inside, heading to our home away from home in the newsroom. I contemplated texting Toby to make a date, but I waited. I needed more time to figure out how I really felt about all of this.

  Whatever this was.

  That night, I fluttered around the house, preparing a lasagna, roasting vegetables and baking a chocolate cake. I’d been starved since having sex with Toby and no matter how much I ate, I was still hungry.

  Maybe it wasn’t food I was hungry for.

  I’d be lying to myself if I said I didn’t want another taste of Toby.

  Whether it was right or not was an entirely different matter.

  At this point, my body didn’t seem to be interested in what was right or wrong. Now that I’d welcomed Toby into a part of me that I rarely allowed anyone to venture, I just wanted to keep opening myself up to him.

  We used to know each other so well, our flesh memorized by our fingertips, our lips fitting together like they were made for each other.

  Maybe things don’t always change so much after all.

  My phone buzzed on the counter as I was pulling the cake out of the oven. A smile spread across my face when I saw that it was Toby texting me.

  “Can I please see you again tonight?”

  Short, simple and sweet. And yet, it answered everything I’d been wondering today. Maybe this wasn’t going to be a one time thing after all. I answered quickly, before I could let any reasons to say no pop into my mind.

  “Of course. Meet me at the Night Light at ten o’clock.”

  I went back to my work, frosting the cake after allowing it to cool on the rack, my head filled with memories of Toby, past and present. I’d spent so long trying to push his memory away and now I was suddenly filled with the urge to remember every detail from our past.

  He’d hurt me, but that was only at the end. Up till then, everything had been completely magical.

  Maybe it could be again, I thought, my heart speeding up with the thought.

  Ten

  Toby

  I arrived half an hour early, downing a quick shot and hoping it would act as liquid courage. Sleeping with Haley had changed everything. I’d been a little nervous to see her before, but this was different.

  I knew tonight would steer the course of our ship one way or the other. I just didn’t know which way it would go.

  This was ridiculous, I thought, trying to push away the nervousness. I wasn’t some snot-nosed high school kid anymore. I was a grown man. And she was a grown woman.

  We could have an adult conversation without me having to resort to having an anxiety attack.

  I would state my case and she would hear me out. And whatever happened after that, happened.

  I would accept my fate.

  I’d been thinking a lot about how everything ended. I was sure she was going to confess cheating on me with Billy back then. I never gave her a chance to explain, because I was full of teenaged confidence or teenaged stupidity…I’d debated which it was for years now.

  I’d even thought about contacting her again after my relationship with Jessica failed. I’d never been able to get her off my mind and after devouring her, I’d come to realize that maybe I’d never actually gotten over her.

  When she walked in, my entire body seemed to light up. She looked amazing, even though she was casually dressed in jeans and a long, black tee that plunged to a V in front, beautifully displaying her curvy cleavage. It took everything I had not to stare at her chest.

  Luckily, her eyes were equally mesmerizing.

  “Hey,” she said, her voice holding a twinge of shyness as she slid into the booth across from me.

  “Thanks for coming," I said, smiling over at her. “Want a drink?”

  “Sure, a beer is fine," she replied. I waved the waitress over and ordered her beer. As she scampered off, I turned my gaze back to Haley, drinking in her beauty.

  “I’m glad you came,” I said.

  “Me, too,” she replied.

  “Good,” I said. “Haley, the other day was amazing…”

  “It was,” she said, flashing me a quiet smile.

  “But listen, I just wanted to explain myself a little. As you know, I recently got out of a very bad marriage and I certainly wasn’t looking for a relationship.”

  Her expression fell and I scrambled to hurry to make my point.

  “But here we are, right?” I asked.

  “Toby, I never expected that to happen, either, and it certainly doesn't mean we're in a relationship now,” she said.

  “No, I know,” I replied. “What I meant was, well, I didn’t — you didn’t — ,” I was stumbling over my words now and I shook my head in frustration. She reached out and put her hand over mine.

  “Stop,” she said. “There’s no pressure. It is what it is. It doesn't have to mean anything at all. Just a good time, for old time’s sake.”

  I smiled gratefully at her, although that wasn’t what I was getting at. I felt like we should define things, at least talk about the past a little, but she was letting me off the hook so graciously. I just wasn’t sure I wanted to be let off the hook at all.

  I wanted something with her, I just didn’t know what. I didn't know if this was the right time. I didn’t know if she'd ever forgive me for breaking up with her so suddenly and without any explanation.

  “Thank you,” I said, for lack of a better response.

  “Tell me abo
ut your ex-wife,” she said, changing the subject.

  I groaned and rolled my eyes. Jessica was the last person I wanted to talk about.

  “Why did you break up?” she asked.

  “Jessica never loved me,” I said. “I think she was just in it for the fame. The fact that she landed a role on WAGS as soon as we returned from our honeymoon should have been my first clue.”

  “What’s WAGS?”

  “A reality TV show. Wives and Girlfriends of Sports Stars,” I explained, rolling my eyes for emphasis on the ridiculousness of it all.

  “Never heard of it,” she said.

  “You’re better off for it,” I replied. “Think Real Housewives, only for athletes.”

  “I see,” she said. “So why did you break up? Did you love her?”

  “I thought I did at one time, but in hindsight, I see I was just marrying her for other reasons.”

  “What reasons?” she asked, her eyes wide and trusting. Once again, I didn’t want to tell her the real reason. I didn’t want to tell her I only married Jessica because I couldn’t get her out of my mind.

  “I guess I just thought it was the thing to do,” I said. “You know, graduate college, get a contract with the NFL, buy a house, get married…”

  “I see,” she said, nodding with am empathetic smile. “And now?”

  “Now what?”

  “Do you still feel that way? That you have to follow a set of milestones in a certain order to win at life?”

  I laughed at her description.

  “No, I guess not,” I said. “I think I learned my lesson.”

  “Still winning?” she asked.

  “Still winning,” I said, gazing over at her, my expression turning serious. “I’m certainly winning now.”

  She blinked and smiled, her face radiating with beauty. My breath caught in my throat as I gazed over at her, remembering the way her skin had felt sliding under my fingertips, the way she moved and writhed below me as I plunged into her warmth. My cock twitched as I tried to get a hold of myself. The urge to lay her on the table and take her again rushed through me.

  Patience, I reminded myself. We weren’t teenagers anymore. We had all the time in the world. My body didn’t seem to think so, but I was determined to at least have a decent conversation with her before tearing her clothes off again.

  The waitress delivered her beer and I watched as she brought the cold bottle to her lips, the same lips I’d kissed hundred — no, thousands — of times before. Why did I never tire of them? Why did I feel like every time our lips met, it was the first time, all over again?

  Haley had gotten deep under my skin, years and years ago, and I’d never been able to work her out. Maybe it was time to just accept fate.

  “Do you believe in fate?” I asked.

  “I think so,” she replied, biting her plump bottom lip thoughtfully.

  “Do you think this is fate? Us running into each other like this?”

  “No,” she said, shaking her head. “I figured I’d see you when I was given that assignment. I mean, I didn’t know you’d barrel into me like a freight train, but I thought we might run into each other,” she laughed.

  “Oh,” I replied, my voice laced with disappointment.

  “Do you believe in fate?” she asked.

  “Yeah, I do,” I said, my body on fire for her, as I pondered the meaning of us seeing each other again. Our connection had been extremely physical right from the start, but in the end, I’d chalked that up to teenaged horniness.

  I was a man now.

  Things weren’t supposed to be so…urgent…anymore.

  I shifted in my seat, trying to discretely adjust my growing cock. I inhaled, a hint of her perfume lingering in the air between us and threatening to send me over the edge. Her soft blonde hair shimmered in the lights, framing her pretty face.

  Her graceful looks had a very ungraceful effect on me.

  She was beautiful, in a classy way, but at the same time, something about Haley just oozed sensuality. It was in the way she moved, the way her hands smoothly glided through the air as she talked, the way her smile started at one corner and spread slowly across her face until she shone like a warm, amber light in a dark night.

  She was comforting and exciting, all at once.

  I could hardly contain myself as I stared across at her. I swallowed hard, a lump forming in my throat, my hunger for her overtaking all logical thought.

  “Let’s go,” I said, downing my beer and slamming it on the table.

  “What?” she asked, her eyes wide with surprise.

  “Come on,” I said, standing up and pulling her out of the booth.

  “Where are we going?” she asked, walking out of the bar with me.

  “My place,” I said.

  “Oh,” she replied, softly, allowing me to put her into my car and close the door.

  I knew she was confused, but I couldn’t put into words what I was feeling. I just needed her and I needed her right now.

  We drove in silence, but I felt her looking at me. I contemplated pulling over, trying to weave through some explanation for all of this, but what was the point? It would just waste time.

  We pulled into the driveway and I turned off the car without a word. I jumped out of the car, walked over to her side and opened her door. She slid out and I couldn’t help but notice the way her jeans hugged her ass as she walked to the door in front of me.

  “It’s beautiful,” she whispered, jolting me from my trance.

  “What?” I asked, snapping my eyes away from her ass.

  “Your house, it’s beautiful,” she said.

  “Thanks,” I replied, opening the door and motioning for her to walk in ahead of me. I closed the door, locking it behind us, locking us in together.

  “This is incredible,” she said, looking around. “It’s so mod—.”

  I interrupted her with a kiss.

  A hard, hungry, urgent kiss that I’d been dying to lay on her since I left her house the other day.

  I groaned into her mouth, as I kissed her deeper. She moaned in submission, wrapping her arms around me eagerly and pressing her breasts against my chest.

  “Fuck,” I growled, ripping my lips from hers as I pushed her against the wall. My cock was throbbing painfully in my jeans and I urgently needed to feel her skin against mine. I pulled off my shirt and then reached forward, gripping the edge of her t-shirt and pulling it over her head. I gasped when I saw her creamy breasts come into view.

  She flashed me a teasing smile as she unclasped her bra, pushing it away as her breasts spilled out into my hands. I growled again, my hunger for her unbearable. I bent down, capturing a nipple in my lips. Her moans were like music to my ears, her fingers gripping the back of my head and pulling it closer as her head fell back, exposing her neck.

  “Toby…,” she moaned, her voice echoing through the empty house. I sank to my knees, tugging her jeans over her hips until she wiggled out of them. Her panties were next, tiny black lacy things that easily fell away.

  My mouth dove into her, tasting her sweetness, licking at the flowing wetness I found there.

  “Toby…,” she cried again, opening her thighs wider to allow me better access to her hot, velvety center. I pushed a thigh up and over my shoulder, sliding in deeper, my mouth working against her, sucking her clit between my lips, pulling the pleasure from her writhing body easily.

  I shot a quick glance up at her, her beauty overwhelming me. My heart swelled as I watched a blush etch up her neck and over her cheeks. With her head thrown back in ecstasy, her body pulsing above me, she was easily the most beautiful creature I’d ever seen.

  As her clit throbbed beneath my assault, I vowed to myself that I’d do whatever it took to make her mine.

  Fuck the past.

  Fuck the present, for all I cared.

  She wouldn’t fuck me like this if she didn’t want me, too….

  She came against my mouth, her body quivering and shaking vi
olently. I stood up, unfastened my jeans and pulled my pulsing cock out quickly, slamming inside of her spasming center, as I pushed her against the wall.

  She moaned loudly, her body wrapping around me completely, her thighs, her arms, her deliciously perfect pussy holding onto me tightly as I hammered into her, my body taking over every conscious and logical thought.

  She was mine now, and I wasn’t about to let anything get in the way of that.

  Eleven

  Haley

  Toby’s cock plunged into me and I cried out, my fingernails scratching along his back as I held on tightly. He fucked me so hard, so deeply, so roughly, that I melted, completely submitting to him.

  I needed him. I needed his body, his touch, his kiss, his cock.

  I needed the way he moved inside of me, every stroke a masterpiece of intention. His slid into me, each hard inch a delectable lusty delight that turned my body into a quivering pile of pleasure.

  “Yes, Toby,” I urged, sinking my fingers into his hair as he thrust into me, over and over, faster and harder with every stroke. “Please don’t stop, please fuck me! Harder!”

  I begged him like a woman without any regard for appearances, or decorum, or restraint.

  There was nothing in the world left but our bodies, moving together, dancing together against the wall of his foyer, his body pounded into me like a freight train.

  Pushing, pulling, pulsing and buzzing, our bodies worked together with a desperate hunger for release. With a sudden violent spasm, I came, gripping his swelling cock until he crashed over the edge with me, our breath shallow and ragged and gasping, as we clung to each other afterwards.

  “Toby,” I whispered, his name dragging lustily across my lips.

  “I’m not finished,” he said, reaching down and scooping me off my feet. He carried me to his bedroom, his cock, still hard, still swollen, still hungry, effortlessly sliding back inside of me as soon as my thighs opened up again.

  “Oh,” I moaned, the delicious thrill of his cock filling me up and transporting me to another dimension entirely, where nothing else existed but the two of us, our bodies, our hands, our lips, made for each other, loving each other, satisfying the urgent hunger that had been unleashed between us.