“Hey, lil’ niece, tell your mama to take a chill pill. Auntie Sam has it all under control.”
Allison snorted.
“Oh, shut it, lil’ mama. I do.”
Missy emerged at that point and gave us both a tentative smile. “Hey, guys. I’ll see you at the restaurant.”
We both replied, “See you there,” at the same time.
I gave a little smirk to Allison, emphasizing my earlier comment. Things are under control.
Mark walked out in a custom-fitted black suit with a matching skinny tie. His shirt was dark red, like my dress, and it had a black hue to it. He was absolutely delish, and I wondered if we would make it to the restaurant without a pit stop. I shifted, trying to ease the roaring ache that had been building in between my legs. The motion alerted him to my need, and his eyes zoomed straight to the movement.
Damien walked up in a similar cut suit to Mark’s, but Damien’s had a titanium color that had black tints to it. His black hair set it off, and he and Allison definitely looked like a power couple tonight.
He kissed Allison. “How did it go today?”
She blew out a breath. “Long, but you’re going to have some great promo materials, I think. At least, I hope.”
“I have a feeling they’ll be the best the team has had. Are you too tired for tonight?” He was looking at her for any signs of distress.
His overprotectiveness used to bother me, but now that I understood love, it made sense.
“No, I’m good.”
He eyed her skeptically.
She soothed his doubts. “I promise. Now that I’m not sick twenty-four/seven, I’m not as tired. I’ll let you know if I need to go early. It helped having the shoot here versus North Carolina.”
“Okay, baby, just let me know.” He turned to us and asked, “Do you guys want to ride with us in the limo?”
I looked to Mark to make the decision, silently pleading with him to turn them down. We needed to make a teeny-tiny detour down Orgasm Lane. Hell, I’d even stoop as low to say we had gotten lost if necessary.
Mark politely said, “No, that’s okay. Sam and I will meet you there in case you two need to leave early. Then, there’s no stress about getting us back to our car.”
Best.
Boyfriend.
Ever.
That meant that I was going to have him inside me in no time.
Damien nodded. “Good point, Mark. We can follow each other then, so you guys don’t get lost. It’s off the beaten path.”
I wanted to shake the ever-living shit out of Damien for making that suggestion. Paybacks were a bitch after all the shit I had put him through. If we were to decline, they would know we wanted to sneak off to get some action, and I was already on the outs with Allison on that subject. She’d probably slit my tires to avoid having that mental image in her head.
Cheerily, I responded, “Sounds good, Wales.”
Glancing at Mark, I knew he was feeling a similar irritation. It seemed like some days the cards were stacked against me regardless of what I did. We were going to be sexual supernovas by the time this evening was done.
We pulled up to the estate where we were having dinner tonight. It was an old Victorian home that had been remodeled as a private dining establishment. Damien had rented out the entire top level for everyone. There was a string quartet off to the side. Circular round tables framed the dance floor. Everything was done in the team colors of black and blue. The tables had black linens, blue dinnerware, and black napkins with silver accents. I loved the contrast of the colors. The colors gave the ambience a sensual feeling. The smell of silver roses scented the air faintly. I had never seen silver roses before, and they were exquisite. It was hard to believe I was a part of events like this.
Mark and I were talking when Gavin caught my attention from across the room, and he gave me a friendly nonchalant middle finger. When I saw Missy standing right beside him¸ I laughed out loud, not being able to resist what my little conversation with Missy had probably caused. At least she was moving on to more available pastures. Dramatically, I gasped and acted shocked and appalled, which earned me a second salute from Gavin.
Mark leaned into me. “What’s so funny?”
“Seems Missy has set her sights on your friend Gavin now.”
I giggled again, thinking about her face in the restroom. She was looking to land herself a player and a Mrs. title. Mark followed my gaze, and he saw what I was talking about. Missy was twirling her hair and had one leg kicked out to the side as she laughed and slapped Gavin’s chest. She needed an intervention and lessons on how to be mysterious and make men chase her. Desperate was one of the many words that came to mind.
“It’s about time. I suspect you had something to do with it when you went and talked to her after the shoot today.”
I shrugged. “Maybe. I just educated her on the fact of what was inappropriate and appropriate when it came to you. Gavin is on his own.”
Mark hugged me to him. “I love your spunk.”
Pushing my ass into his dick, I responded, “I thought you loved a lot more than that. Should I remind you of what awaits you when we get back?”
He pulled me closer to him, and I could feel his arousal telling me he remembered.
“Good answer, Sport.”
He indiscreetly nipped my ear, which had my core pulsing with desire to have his thick rigidness pushing inside me.
“Sam, I plan on tasting every inch of you tonight.”
“Mmm…good to know we are on the same page.”
Mark’s fingers dug into my hip as if he was about to pull us away when a familiar voice called my name.
“Sam, what the hell? You don’t call? You don’t write? You get a boyfriend, and you disappear on me.”
Even though I wanted to punch my friend, I was excited to see him. It had been too long.
Turning, I quipped back, “Martin, what the hell? You don’t call? You don’t write? You get a girlfriend, and you disappear on me.”
He was dressed to the nines in a gray dinner suit. His blond hair had grown long and was pulled back neatly. “Touché, Sam, touché.”
I walked up to Martin and gave him a big hug. I ruffled his hair a little to irritate him. He playfully slapped my hand away.
Smoothing his hair back, he said, “Hey, don’t mess with perfection. Where’s that bastard friend of mine? It’s been a while since I’ve been able to harass him.”
Pointing, I showed Martin where Damien stood possessively by Allison’s side. Regardless if the world knew she was his, he took every opportunity he could to reiterate the point.
Martin followed the direction of my hand as I said, “He’s over there. If you want to get him good tonight, mention how tired Allison looks.”
Allison was going to kill me, but it was worth it. Since Martin and I had become friends, we both loved razzing Damien and getting him all riled up. Allison wanted to kill us at times, but Martin brought it out in me. He was the perfect accomplice.
Mark shook Martin’s hand. “Hey, man, how are you doing? Where’s your girl?”
It seemed like they got along well. Mark had said he enjoyed rafting with Martin in Colorado.
Martin accepted his handshake. “Good to see you. I’m good. She had to go out of town for a photo shoot. I can’t stay long, but I was in town, so I wanted to come by for a bit.”
Not wanting Mark to think there was anything between Martin and me, I walked back to Mark’s side, and he put his arm around my hip. My naturally friendly nature sometimes gave the wrong impression, and Mark hadn’t been around Martin and me enough to see that we were like brother and sister.
I gave Martin a big cheesy grin that had him laughing as I said, “Well, before you leave, you owe me a dance. I didn’t take those dance lessons with you at Christmas while you were trying to woo your girl for nothing.”
Mark seemed relaxed beside me as Martin and I interacted.
Martin gave me a light punch on the s
houlder. “Will do, Sam. Mark, it was great seeing you. Take care of her. She’s the best and like a sister to me, but I know you already know that. I’ll come back as soon as I’ve said hello and done my best in harassing Wales.”
Martin strode toward his target as Mark said to me, “Allison is going to kill you.”
Giving a little evil grin and rubbing my hands together, I retorted, “Nope. She’s going to kill Martin. We have a pact of not ratting each other out. It allows the ability to irritate Wales the most. You know Martin is like a brother, right?”
“Sam, if I thought he was interested in anything else, he wouldn’t be standing right now. However, I want the first dance with you since you’re already giving away some of them, brother or not.”
Mark led me to the dance floor, and we began to gracefully move around the floor. He was a natural lead, and it made me feel elegant for the first time when it came to ballroom dancing. Martin and I looked like a comedy show when we would dance together.
Mark’s arm was strong and firm as he supported me.
“Sport, where did you learn to ballroom dance?”
“No judging.”
“Is this worse than singing the part of Annie in the school play tryouts?”
Mark’s eyes gleamed at me with amusement as he said, “I’m going to kill Brina for telling you that story. She was behind this, too, though. One summer, she needed to learn to ballroom dance. She nagged me until I caved and took lessons with her. It’s been stuck with me ever since.”
“She’s quite the force at times.”
“You have no idea.”
The look he gave me showed how much he loved her even though he was trying to appear irritated. We continued to dance and laugh, and being with him felt so right.
As the dance ended, he leaned into my ear. His tone was dark and seductive as he said, “Is this evening over yet? I want to take you home.”
He didn’t have to wait for a response as I started off toward the door to find a secluded place.
Martin crossed paths with us. I had forgotten about dancing with him.
Damn it.
“Hey, Sam, are you ready for that dance? I’m about to head out.”
Feeling defeated because Mark and I were not going to get that alone time we needed, I gave Mark a kiss on the cheek and whispered, “Be good. My nipples will be waiting for you.”
With the scowl he had on his face, Mark looked like he might punch Martin for interrupting us.
Turning and shaking my finger at Martin, I walked up to him, trying not to think about what I was missing right now. “No stepping on my toes this time. You nearly put me in a cast the last time.”
He held up his hands and smirked. “No promises. You’re the one who asked for the dance.”
Taking my hand, Martin moved us farther onto the dance floor and began doing the rehearsed dance we had learned, which was even less complicated than what Mark had led me through.
Martin chuckled. “By the way, I should warn you that Allison smelled your name all over that. She’s gunning for us both now. Watch your back. Damien is about to haul her out of here, and she’s about to slap the shit out of him. It’s great.”
We both started laughing right as I saw Allison giving us the evil eye with a sneer.
Oh, we are in for it for sure now. It is on.
I blew her a kiss, and she smiled. We were still going to get it by the innocent look on her face.
Martin gave a sweet smile toward her as he said to me, “See? I’d start sleeping with one eye open if I were you.”
“Shit, we might need to figure out what she’s craving right now and then send it to her every day, twice a day.”
Giving a little wave her direction did nothing for my cause. We executed our turn, and Martin missed, stepping on my toe.
“Ouch, Martin! Really?”
“Sorry, Sam. I’m fucking terrible at this.”
The pain was subsiding a tad as I scrunched up my face and retorted, “No shit, Sherlock.”
He was trying not to laugh, and so was I. We were terrible.
“To make it up to you, I’ll handle Allison. She’ll get a morning treat from you and an afternoon treat from me. Even if it’s only crackers, they’ll be the best damn crackers money can buy.”
We continued to jerkily make our way around the dance floor. I had been so graceful with Mark while Martin and I looked out of sync and awkward. It was how our relationship was, which worked. We were funny together.
Martin looked over at Mark and asked, “So, when is the quarterback going to manage to put a ring on that finger? You seem to really like him.”
“Hmm…I don’t know. We’re living together now, so we’ll see how it goes. I’m not in any rush, but I do love him.”
Talking with Martin about this was easy because he had no expectations of what my answer should or shouldn’t be. We were the type of friends who could pick up right where we’d left off even if it was several weeks between talking. Watching Mark across the room with a wine glass in his hand as he talked with a group of people stirred something in me. It made me want to let the world know that he was mine permanently.
Dustin, one of the players I couldn’t stand on Damien’s team, was with Mark. He had always given me the creeps. Dustin pulled Mark aside and asked him something. Mark shook his head. Martin was now looking in the direction I was.
Martin asked me, “Who’s that?”
“Dustin Marco. He’s the wide receiver for the team. He’s a sleazeball. Damien has put him on probation for his conduct. Plus, he stepped out of line with Allison a few times.”
Martin and I were swaying at this point as we watched the scene unfold. Dustin kept trying to convince Mark of something, or at least it looked that way with how Dustin’s hands were moving. Mark was about to walk away when Dustin showed him something on his phone. Whatever was on the screen caused Mark to stop and grab Dustin’s phone. Dustin was now smiling and shaking his head excitedly, like he had won the argument, as he was speaking to Mark. Gavin came up from behind and tapped Dustin on the shoulder, which caused him to turn his back to Mark. Mark pulled out his cell phone and took a picture of Dustin’s cell phone. Mark then put his phone back in his pocket as Dustin turned back to him.
What the hell is going on?
My scalp prickled as Mark handed Dustin back his phone. Mark gave Dustin a polite smile and shook his head. Dustin shrugged, and it appeared he said the words, Your loss. This whole encounter was strange.
I’ll have to ask Mark about it later.
Mark’s eyes suddenly shifted to mine. So many emotions passed over his face that I couldn’t place what he was feeling. Quickly, he turned his back, walked over to where Gavin now stood, and joined the conversation.
What did Dustin show Mark? Maybe Dustin pulled up a picture of a naked girl, and Mark was worried about me looking as he was caught off guard with the pic. But why did he take a picture of it?
Martin voiced my thoughts, “What the hell was that?”
“I have no idea, but I’m going to ask Mark later.”
My eyes were still watching Mark’s back as Martin said, “Let me know if you need anything.”
I nodded to Martin as the song ended. We both did our graceful bows. It was the only part of the dance that we really had down.
“Don’t be a stranger, Sam.”
“You either. Thanks for the dance.”
Martin gave me a kiss on the forehead and then walked off. Mark’s back was still to me. He was talking with the guys, so I decided to go talk to Allison and maybe rile up Wales a little.
Making my way over to Allison, who was talking with Damien, I pranced up and gave her a little nudge with my hip. I addressed Damien, “Wales, you always throw a kick-ass party.”
“Thanks, Sam. I hear you were harassing one of the cheerleaders today.”
I turned to Allison. “Rat.”
Just then, someone vying for Damien’s attention pulled him away.
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Deciding to get her a little worked up for tattling, I asked, “Martin said you looked a little tired. How are you feeling?”
Her eyes narrowed. “I knew it. You two are terrible. You just wait. I’m going to get you both back. If I were you, I’d keep one eye open while you sleep.”
“Bring it, sista.”
A chime announced it was time for dinner.
“Oh, it’s on. Let’s go get our seats,” she said.
We looped our arms together and made our way to the table. Mark made it to us a few minutes after the salad was delivered, and he was pulled into conversations from other people at the table. Everyone wanted their time with the star player.
Dinner had ended. I was exhausted, sexually frustrated, and ready for some alone time with Mark. Next to Damien, he was the second most popular person at this function. Everyone wanted to run their thoughts by Mark on their game plan or workout schedule. Mark and I had been so wrapped up in each other over these last few weeks that he had in essence been off the radar and unreachable. Allison looked worn out by the end of dinner, and she finally admitted it, which spurred Damien into a hasty departure.
As we were parting ways at the cars, I gave her a hug. “Rest, sweetie. You’ve had a big day.”
She yawned. “Thanks. You guys have a good night.”
“We will. Trust me on that.”
She muffled her ears as she walked to the car door Damien had already opened.
I yelled after her, “Allison!”
She wouldn’t turn my way.
“Oh, Allison…”
“I can’t hear you.”
She was hilarious. I turned and walked to the car, ready to get to the best part of the night.
Mark was standing at my door, holding it open. I leaned up and gave him a kiss, which he returned, but it was more reserved than normal.
“Is everything okay?”
He gestured for me to get in as he said, “I have a lot on my mind right now. It’s been a long evening.”
Staring up into his eyes, I tried to figure out what was going on. He looked tired and stressed.
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