Bouncing

by Jaime Maddox

  “They were right about the music, Alex. Norah rocks,” Brit said after a while.

  Alex cleared her throat. “I think it was actually me who did the rocking.”

  Gently, Brit pushed Alex onto her back, and she rolled onto her side, holding her weight on her forearm. Instantly her calm was replaced by desire, and she was wide-awake, charged. With her free hand, she began to trace a line with her fingers, from Alex’s own fingertip, along her arm and to her collarbone. Drawing ever-widening circles there, she came closer and closer to Alex’s breast, causing Alex to gasp. Brit smiled in response, biting her lower lip. “You do rock. Now I want to rock you.”

  “You already do.”

  Their eyes met, and Brit shuddered at the thought of what they’d just done. At what she was about to do. And just what was that? She had no idea where to start, what to do first.

  Brit slid on top of Alex and kissed her softly, then searched for her eyes again. “I may need some directions.”

  Arching her hips and pulling Brit into her, Alex smiled. “I think you’re doing a great job, Brit.”

  “I just want to make you feel as good as I do, and…what if I can’t?”

  Alex sighed and, pulling Brit’s hand to her mouth, kissed her fingertips. Their faces were inches apart, and again Alex rocked her hips into Brit’s. “I could come like this, Brit. I could come with your fingers inside or your mouth on me. That’s how much you excite me.”

  “You’re not making this any easier,” Brit said as she began kissing her way down Alex’s long body. She paused at the angle of Alex’s jaw and again at the front of her ear, eliciting a moan. She slid wet lips along her throat to the hollow at the junction of her collarbones, where she kissed the muscles straining as Alex arched her neck. With her hands, she found Alex’s breasts and gently slid across the pebbly surfaces of her nipples, teasing, kneading, and flicking her fingers by turns. With her mouth she continued down until it met her hands, and then Brit pulled the stiffened nipple into her mouth, pushing the rest of Alex’s breast, too, trying to take it all in.

  “Oh, Brit.” Alex groaned at the sensation, and Brit was inspired to keep going. Such joyous noise could only mean she was doing something right, right? And she wanted to take her time with this; she wanted to repay Alex for all the attention she’d been given, wanted to show her the love that was in her heart. Even if she didn’t have a clue about what to do, whatever clumsy attempts she made at lovemaking would be from the heart, and she wanted Alex to know that.

  Yet as much as she wanted to linger in the valley between Alex’s breasts, she was drawn lower, craving Alex’s sex. The need to lick her and taste her and attempt to give her that indescribable pleasure she’d just experienced was suddenly too much to resist. Hastening her descent, she found Alex’s clit with her fingers, felt it throbbing as it slid along her forefinger, and felt Alex tremble with pleasure as she moaned yet again. “Oh, Brit, that’s so good. It feels so wonderful.”

  Encouraged, Brit moved lower, through the patch of blond curls, searching for that magical part of Alex she was caressing with her fingers. When her mouth found her hand, Brit sucked Alex’s clit and stroked it, moving her head and her hands in tandem with Alex’s pelvis, which had pushed her off the bed. She remembered holding Alex’s head a moment earlier and understood that need. The thought of what Alex had done with her tongue and what she now was doing to Alex caused a sudden flood between her legs again and an aching that shocked her.

  She responded with more pressure, with both her fingers and then her tongue, encouraged by Alex’s thrusting and groaning, as well as her own growing need. Brit slid through Alex’s wet folds and slipped inside, where it was so hot and wet her fingers were burning. Alex shouted as Brit’s finger went deep inside her, and suddenly Alex’s hand was on top of hers, not showing her what to do, but holding it in the place that told Brit she’d found home.

  Brit could sense Alex’s impending orgasm, feeling her need as if it were her own, and she moved her mouth and her tongue and her fingers faster, deeper, harder, until at last, Alex shrieked and shuddered and then grew still beneath her.

  Brit held on to her, still, but then feeling quite proud of herself, she began to laugh. “Wow!”

  “Yeah, Brit. Wow.”

  Brit sat next to Alex and stroked her with a fingertip, admiring the perfect features of her face, the sculpted form of her shoulders and arms, the model-like body. “You’re so beautiful, Alex.”

  “You make me feel beautiful.”

  “Good.”

  “And you make me feel…needy. If you keep touching me, I’m going to be very needy very soon.”

  “As in needing another orgasm?”

  Alex nodded.

  Brit sighed. “Oh, I’m so happy you told me that, because I feel needy, too.”

  Smiling, Alex sat up and kissed Brit, then began laying a trail of kisses down her body, moving headfirst as she went. “Let’s see what we can do about all of these needs,” she said as she worked her way down.

  Brit gasped as she realized what Alex was doing, sliding along her body, aiming for the triangle between her legs even as she positioned her own sex above Brit’s waiting mouth. Brit came in the instant Alex engulfed her, but she continued the motions of her own fingers and tongue until just a moment later when the now-familiar sounds told her Alex was going to that same wonderful, blissful place.

  Only when Alex stopped shaking did Brit slow her movements and collapse back onto the pillow, and only when Alex was resting again in her arms did she allow herself the simple pleasure of those three magical words that were all either of them needed to perfect the moment. “I love you,” she said softly.

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Let the Games Begin

  “I think it’s good to start off playing a great team, Alex. It’ll test us.”

  Alex was pacing the living room of her apartment, looking sexy as hell in a black tailored suit. Even the scowl on her face couldn’t detract from her magnificence.

  “But what if we lose? Will their confidence be shattered?”

  The team’s schedule had been decided long before Alex was hired, and by the time she realized their opening game was against the defending champs of the neighboring county, it was too late to change things. The team was a perennial power, and to make things worse, since it was the first game of the year, they hadn’t had a chance to scout them. If they could have seen them play, perhaps it would have eased Alex’s fears. As it was, her anxiety seemed to grow daily as the tip-off tournament approached.

  Now it was just five hours until game time, and Alex was a wreck. She’d left Brit’s apartment on this bright Saturday morning, claiming she needed to get ready for the game. Brit had been preoccupied with sorting laundry and cleaning her refrigerator, and it had taken an hour for her to realize Alex didn’t have anything to get ready for. Game time was five o’clock, and their bus was scheduled to leave the school ninety minutes prior. Did she really need five hours to change clothes?

  Brit had found her at home, all dressed up, watching a video of their opponent from the prior season.

  “What can I do? Would you like a drink?”

  Alex ran her hands through her hair as she stood at her window, looking into the dense forest behind the Fielding estate. Few leaves remained on the trees, the grass had faded to brown, and patches of the first snow were scattered across the landscaping. It was a dreary picture, perfectly matching Alex’s mood.

  Wrapping her arms around Alex’s waist, Brit pulled her close, and after a moment, Alex began to relax against her. Then Alex turned in her arms and returned the hug, then bent and began kissing Brit’s neck, following it to her jaw until she finally found her mouth. Brit was instantly wet, and as she returned the kiss, Alex grabbed her butt, pulling their centers into each other. “I just thought of another way to relax you,” Brit whispered into Alex’s ear.

  How she’d gone from celibacy to her current state amazed Brit, but she wasn�
��t questioning it. Not too deeply, anyway. She was too busy enjoying herself, having as many orgasms as possible, smiling as the happiness within her bubbled out.

  They quickly shed their clothes, and Brit concentrated on Alex’s pleasure rather than her own. Within minutes of settling onto the bed, Alex was shuddering in her arms. Brit couldn’t suppress a triumphant smile, and Alex returned it.

  “That was much better than a drink.”

  Brit settled into Alex, wrapped her arms tightly around her, and rested her head on Alex’s chest. “It’s really going to be okay, Alex.”

  Alex kissed the top of her head. “I’ve never failed at anything, Brit. Everything’s always been easy for me. I just practiced and prepared, and it worked. But this is out of my control. It doesn’t matter what I do, it’s up to the team now.”

  “You can’t control everything, that’s true. But you can call the plays and change the defense, make substitutions. You’re not using your physical skills, but you’ll be using that amazing mind.”

  “Stop teasing me. What if we lose?”

  Brit trailed her finger across Alex’s collarbone, across her shoulder, down her arm. “We’ll give them a pep talk, and we go back tomorrow and win that one.”

  “You make it sound easy.”

  “Well, I know it’s not, but as your girlfriend it’s my job to lie to you to make you feel better.”

  Alex laughed.

  “See, it’s working.”

  A few hours later, Brit followed the team from the locker room into the gym. The fans erupted in a chorus of cheers as the players tore through a green-and-white banner, and Brit quickly found her family in the stands just behind the bench. Even in pumps and a skirt, Brit bounded up the bleachers to greet them. They were all there, all eleven of them, and each of them hugged her and kissed her for luck.

  “I’m so proud of you,” her dad said, and Brit beamed.

  “Good luck, dear,” her mom said, and Brit knew her mother was still mad that basketball was keeping her away from her family. In addition to Thanksgiving, when she’d bailed out early, she’d missed the family dinner the week before. Brit couldn’t help it; she’d been unable to pull herself away from Alex for long enough to make the drive home. Her entire life she’d spent busy Sundays with her family. Now that Alex was in her life, she wanted nothing more than to spend lazy Sundays with her. She had no reason to feel guilty, and when a little gust of guilt whipped up in her conscience, she quickly squelched it.

  Then another emotion, fear, quickly replaced her guilt. As she pulled from her mother’s arm, her eyes locked with a pair of blue eyes in the next section. Alex’s dad. Brit excused herself and quickly made her way to the Daltons.

  Shit! With all the thoughts occupying her time lately, Brit hadn’t considered this one. Two sets of parents were operating on two different assumptions. Her family thought she was Alex’s assistant coach. And on Thanksgiving, Alex had introduced her as her girlfriend. Under no circumstances could the two families be allowed to meet. Not yet, anyway. Brit wasn’t about to ruin her parents’ Christmas by coming out to them.

  A dozen friends surrounded Alex’s parents, and Brit tried to keep her greeting brief. The game was about to start, but the eyes she’d felt following her as she left her family to join the Daltons concerned her. With a promise that she’d talk to them later, and a prayer that neither family decided to introduce themselves to the other at the half, Brit rejoined Alex courtside.

  Her foray into the bleachers had lasted only a couple of minutes, but Brit felt like she’d aged years in that time. What was she going to do now?

  She stood beside Alex as the national anthem played. Alex looked stunning in her suit, and although Brit knew she was nervous, it didn’t show. She chatted with players, joked with parents, talked with reporters, and made it all look easy. Soon Brit was caught up in the excitement of the game as well, her fears about her family forgotten.

  They’d decided on the starting five a week earlier, and Brit felt confident as she watched them take the floor. Then the ref threw up the ball, Kelsey tapped it to Sid, and Melissa broke to the basket and caught the pass in the lane. She danced around the defense and banked her shot off the backboard for the first basket of her high-school career. The play took only six seconds.

  All of Alex’s worry had been needless. The defending champions were no match for the Falcons, and by the third quarter, the game was over. They won by thirty points, with help from every player on the team.

  Rather than head straight to the locker room, Brit met her family as she came off the court. She hoped to dismiss them quickly and join the team, without having to make any introductions. They’d planned to have dinner together, but Brit hadn’t counted on staying to scout the second game. It would be another two hours before she could leave the gym.

  With a discreet glance in the Daltons’ direction, Brit accepted hugs from her family as they congratulated her, then again as they said good-bye. After she promised she’d see them the next day for mass and dinner before her game, they left without incident.

  Laughter and loud banter greeted her in the locker room, and Brit’s spirits soared when she entered. The players joked with each other as they changed back into their warm-up suits, and Brit handed out pats on the back as she approached Alex.

  “That was easy,” she said, and Alex smiled from ear to ear.

  “Thanks for helping me relax today. That was the key to my outstanding coaching performance.”

  Brit blushed but couldn’t resist a retort. “The pleasure was all mine.”

  “Ready?” Alex asked.

  Brit didn’t need to change, but she grabbed her bag from a locker and followed Alex back to the gym. Her parents were waiting. “Congrats, Coach Dalton. Coach Dodge,” Alex’s dad said, and he hugged her again.

  “Yes, it was a great game,” her mom added.

  “Was that your family I saw in the stands, Brit?” Liz asked.

  “Uh, yes. They had to get to dinner, or I would have introduced you.”

  “Next time,” Liz said, and Brit cringed. What was she going to do?

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Holiday Surprise

  Bing Crosby was singing “White Christmas” as Brit started her car and left her parents’ house, headed for home. The local radio station had begun a countdown to Christmas on the day after Thanksgiving, playing carols nonstop. Now, Christmas was finally here. It was just after midnight, yet another imaginary migraine freed her from the family obligations that were a constant obstacle in her pursuit of time with Alex. And after they’d first made love—since before that, really—because all Brit wanted was to be with Alex, life had become quite complicated.

  Not that she was complaining.

  The month since Thanksgiving had been simply magnificent. They were together most of the time and somehow managed to pull their mouths away from each other long enough to complete lesson plans and practice agendas in between talking and cooking and washing laundry, and all the other little things required to run apartments and lives and careers. Each day was new and adventurous, and Brit was savoring all of it. This first love was all she’d ever dreamed it would be. And so much was going on, Brit’s head was spinning. Not only did they have the wonder of their new love, they had the magic of Christmas and the excitement of their basketball season to keep everything lively.

  And all of it was great. The team was undefeated. Seven girls were good enough to start, which made their bench phenomenal. Kelsey had improved tremendously in the five months since they’d met at the park. At the beginning of the school year, she’d planned to attend a small local college and wasn’t even interested in playing college basketball. After scoring more than a hundred points in her first three games of the season, though, the plans had changed dramatically.

  Daily calls were coming in from college coaches, all inquiring about Kelsey’s future. Some small Division I schools had offered scholarships, and a few bigger schools had made inq
uiries about her intentions. Suddenly, she was excited about her future as a basketball player, and her energy filtered through to the rest of the players. They were playing well together, mixing up the offense with jump shots and drives, and working to find a way to get the ball into Kelsey’s hands. Their defense was spectacular as well—Kelsey was blocking shots left and right, and the guards were stealing the ball at a record pace.

  Conditioning couldn’t fix academics, though, and that bothered Brit most. The last thing a winning team needed was to lose a player due to poor grades, so Alex had given her the job of keeping tabs on the players’ classroom performance. With a few of them, Brit had her hands full. And of course, because that’s the way it usually happens, the player who struggled most in the classroom was Kelsey.

  Brit was working with her, taking the first ten minutes of every practice to go over her class work. They would stand facing each other, bouncing balls and talking about history and literature and calculus. Biology was a delicate subject, and Brit tried not to cross the line by discussing her class in too much detail. It didn’t matter, though. Kelsey was doing well in biology. And in the month since they’d started their little pre-practice ritual, Kelsey’s grades had improved across the board. The time they spent together in the gym was helping her ball-handling skills, too. Brit thought a big part of her success was the confidence with which she moved to the basket. She was suddenly so sure of that ball in her hands that nothing could stop her.

  It was wonderful to see the team doing so well, and Brit was proud to be a part of their success. The energy was palpable and put a bounce in all of their steps, but none more so than Alex’s. Alex had been sweating about the team when they first met at the beach, but now she was finally relaxed and enjoying the early success they were having. Reporters had interviewed her for the newspaper and television, and the school and the community were beginning to get excited about the team. On a few occasions when they’d been at the grocery store and the mall, strangers had approached Alex to offer their congratulations on her team’s success. Brit was her biggest fan, but suddenly Alex had a horde of admirers.