The Player Gets Coached

by Janet Nissenson

  Jordan couldn’t contain a knowing smirk. “Well, that’s one way of putting it, I suppose. Lucky for you beds can’t - uh, never mind.”

  Delilah winked at Jordan, her glossy red lips curving up in a smile. “No worries, Jordan. You aren’t spilling any secrets I haven’t already guessed at. I’m well aware that until he met me Finn was the biggest male slut in the city. Maybe even the state.”

  “Try the country,” Jordan murmured in Aubrey’s ear, the two of them exchanging a secret laugh.

  “Hey,” protested Finn. “I already told you, babe, that was all before I knew you. I’m a changed man now, just like Jordan was after he met Aubrey. Speaking of which,” he added, visibly anxious to change the subject, “when’s the wedding going to be?”

  “We haven’t even started talking about dates yet,” acknowledged Aubrey. “Just that we’d really love to get married in Maui, at the Gregson Resort where we first met. I mentioned the idea briefly to Ian and Tessa and they’re both thrilled with the suggestion. But as to exactly when, we’re not sure. I doubt we can pull it off before the end of this year, so maybe next January or February, after the holidays.”

  “However, we are planning to have an engagement party,” offered Jordan. “Hopefully sometime in June, I’m checking dates with my club to see what they have available. And obviously all of you are at the top of our guest list.”

  “Speaking of which,” reminded Max. “I brought over a bottle of champagne - a very nice Dom Perignon - to toast our happy couple. Jordan, if you grab some flutes I’ll get the bottle from your wine refrigerator.”

  They lingered over their champagne, and then coffee and dessert, until it was nearly midnight, and Aubrey was unable to stifle a yawn.

  “God, sorry,” she apologized quickly. “I think I’m still fighting off a little bit of jet lag from that business trip I took.”

  Delilah shook her head and got to her feet, placing a slender hand on Finn’s shoulder as she did so. “Don’t be sorry. I had no idea how late it was getting to be. And I’m determined not to miss my boot camp class tomorrow morning yet again, especially after eating so much tonight.”

  She and Finn agreed to share a taxi with Max, and the trio headed out together a few minutes later after saying their good-byes and thanks. Delilah and Aubrey exchanged phone numbers and email addresses, and promised to get together for lunch within the next couple of weeks.

  As Finn gave her a hug good-by, Aubrey managed to whisper in his ear, “If you manage to let her slip away from you somehow, you’re an even bigger idiot than I’ve always thought you to be. So prove me wrong, okay?”

  Finn murmured back, “Already hard at work on that, babe. And I’m well aware of what a prize I’ve managed to find, a prize I intend to hold on tight to.”

  As they closed the door behind their guests, Jordan flung an arm around his fiancée’s shoulders as he steered her towards the kitchen.

  “I’ll help clean up,” he offered. “Unless you want to leave all of this until the morning, that is.”

  Aubrey shook her head. “I hate the thought of leaving dirty dishes in the sink all night. Besides, it’s mostly just the dessert stuff now. Finn helped me load all of the dinner dishes earlier. Almost made me faint when he offered, too. Tell me - in all the years you’ve known him, have you ever known Finn to do the dishes?”

  Jordan’s eyes twinkled. “Most of the time, Max and I were grateful when Finn would actually eat off a dish, instead of straight from a box or a takeout container. So we were as shocked as you were when he volunteered to help clear the table.”

  “You know,” ventured Aubrey as she began to rinse out coffee cups, “it’s probably a given that you’re going to lose that bet to Max. As crazy as Finn seems about Delilah, I don’t think he’s going to break things off with her over the next few days.”

  “Yeah, that’s pretty much what Max told me when we were getting the champagne out,” groused Jordan. “I’ve already paid the smug bastard off. And then he had the balls to ask if I wanted to up the ante and start a new bet - a thousand bucks this time, provided that Finn sticks it out a full six months. Told him I’d think about it.”

  Aubrey frowned as she loaded the dessert plates into the dishwasher. “Well, as much as Finn surprised me tonight, there’s no way in hell I’d bet on him lasting six months. Even with a woman like Delilah Ferris.”

  “Why not?” asked Jordan in surprise. “You said yourself that he’s crazy about her, couldn’t take his eyes off of her all night, even let her control the conversation. And for Finn to make anyone but himself the center of attention for more than ten minutes is nothing short of a miracle. Plus, as special as Delilah is, Finn would have to be a complete and total idiot to piss her off.”

  “You just answered your own question, Doctor Dreamboat,” replied Aubrey. “Because if anyone is capable of screwing up such a good thing, that person would definitely be one Finn McManus.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  May

  If someone had even hinted three months earlier that he would have managed to keep a relationship going with the same woman for more than a few days, Finn would have laughed hysterically at the very thought. He’d been more than content with his life back then, being free of any and all commitments, and especially any sort of emotional ones. His life had been an endless string of one-night stands, casual fucks, and generally meaningless sex. If he’d had to actually name any of the women he’d slept with back then, he would have to guess at their names - and chances were high that he wouldn’t get a single one correct.

  But he knew that he would never, ever forget the woman who slept peacefully beside him - not just her name but every single detail about her, no matter how small that detail might be. They hadn’t even been together for two full months as yet, but Finn realized that Delilah had already changed his life in too many ways to count.

  There were the more obvious changes, like the ones to his physical appearance. He got regular haircuts now, at a salon rather than a barbershop, and was either clean shaven or made sure his stubble was neatly trimmed. With Delilah’s help, he’d purged almost half the contents of his wardrobe - with her turning up her nose at the condition of some of his rattier jeans and T-shirts - and replaced those items with more upscale, higher quality ones. He had cut back even further on his drinking, and hadn’t had a hangover since well before meeting her. And while he would never be able to completely give up his beloved junk food - greasy burgers, hero sandwiches, and pretty much anything that could be deep fried - his eating habits had gradually become healthier. He grinned now as he recalled the shocked expressions on Jordan’s and Max’s faces when he’d actually ordered grilled salmon and vegetables for lunch a few days ago instead of his usual cheesesteak sandwich and fries.

  But the ways in which Delilah had changed him - for the better, he acknowledged - went far beyond his hair and clothes and food choices. Being with her made him feel better about himself, made him feel that he wasn’t just a former jock who wasn’t especially bright. Or an infamous party boy who was featured weekly in the tabloids. He’d started reading again, something he had always enjoyed doing as a boy but that hadn’t exactly fit his wild and crazy image, and currently had half a dozen new books on his e-reader that he was eager to delve into. He read two newspapers a day, no longer relying on just the internet to keep up on current events. He had begun to think about a career beyond broadcasting, realizing that the network might decide to replace him with a younger, fresher face sooner than later. Same with his current endorsement deals. And while he had plenty of money to live comfortably for the rest of his life, Finn knew that he’d get bored sooner than later without some sort of employment to occupy his time. He’d even started asking Max to teach him more about the stock market and investing, and had vowed to be far more responsible about his personal finances than he was used to doing.

  Perhaps, though, the biggest impact that Delilah had had on his life was the
fact that he was so damned happy. For a long time, he hadn’t realized that he’d just been putting on a good face, pretending to the rest of the world as well as to himself that he had the greatest life imaginable. He’d always been laughing and joking, acting as though he didn’t have a care in the world beyond what bar or club to hang out at that evening, and which lucky lady to pick among the dozens willing to go home with him.

  It had been after his first date with Delilah - the night he’d taken her to dinner and the symphony - when Finn had admitted to himself that he’d only been pretending for years now. In reality, he had been far lonelier than even he had comprehended, his so-called fantastic life little more than an empty, meaningless existence.

  Now, however, he felt truly alive, in a way he hadn’t since his days in the NFL. His days were filled with a variety of activities and projects - hitting the gym daily, reading his books and newspapers, making sure to call his parents at least three times a week. He’d recently bought a mountain bike and had started taking it on rides through Golden Gate Park and the Marin Headlands. With Delilah’s advice he was continuing to re-decorate his condo, and had also bought a bunch of plants for his terrace which he tended to faithfully. And he’d even begun trying his hand at cooking - an announcement that had been met with mingled shock and hysterical laughter from Jordan and Max.

  And, naturally, the very best parts of his day involved seeing Delilah, even if it was just for an hour or so. They spent most nights together, switching back and forth between their condos, since re-doing his bedroom had been the very first project he’d tackled. He walked or drove her to work nearly every day on his way to the gym, frequently stopped by her studio to take her out to lunch - or bring food or coffee to her, depending on how busy she was. On the evenings she had to work late he made sure to have dinner waiting for her, either something he’d thrown together, keeping his fingers crossed that it would be edible, or getting takeout from one of her favorite restaurants.

  He texted her at least two or three times a day, trying to be mindful of her workload but also needing that regular contact with her. It had startled him to realize that for the first time in a relationship he was being the needy one, the pursuer rather than the pursued, and that he was willingly taking a backseat most of the time to Delilah’s job. The role reversal he was experiencing with her hadn’t escaped his attention, nor the fact that the whole situation was probably the very epitome of irony. Finn had made it his life’s mission to avoid commitment or clingy, demanding females, and now here he was the one left wanting more from this relationship.

  Delilah gave a little sigh and snuggled deeper under the covers, burrowing her face against the new pillows she’d helped him select, along with the sheets, duvet, and the bed itself. Finn propped himself up on one elbow as he reclined on his side, watching her quietly as she continued to slumber. She’d worked late last night, and had been so tired when he’d picked her up from the studio that she had barely been able to keep her eyes open. And even though he seemed to be in a near-constant state of arousal whenever she was nearby, he’d been enough of a gentleman to let her get some sleep instead of expecting sex.

  Watching her now, though, it was becoming increasingly difficult to ignore the demands of his body. The fact that she was covered up to the neck, with only her face visible, didn’t matter in the least to his dick. Finn was well aware of what was beneath the thick duvet, knew that she was only wearing a sheer, barely there pink lace nightie that revealed far more than it concealed. His tongue had been hanging out when she’d emerged from the bathroom in that cockteasing slip of fabric, but Delilah had only managed to give him a quick kiss good night before falling into a deep sleep.

  Fortunately, it was finally Saturday morning, which meant she could sleep in awhile longer. Finn had intentionally not made any specific plans this weekend, especially after Delilah had promised him she wouldn’t spend even an hour on anything work related for these two days. He was more than happy to let her call the shots over the next forty-eight hours, make all the plans. Provided, of course, that those plans included lots of hot and heavy sex.

  He couldn’t help himself from tucking a long strand of hair behind her ear, then running his knuckles over her flushed cheek. She murmured something in her sleep but otherwise didn’t stir, allowing him to continue looking his fill. Without her makeup and jewelry and sophisticated clothing, Delilah looked younger, more vulnerable, more innocent. There was little to no trace of the capable, confident businesswoman right now as she slept so peacefully. And the way she looked at the moment, with her pinkened cheeks and softly parted lips, it was almost impossible to believe what a controlling, demanding little wildcat she could frequently be when it came to their sex life.

  Finn chuckled to himself as he recalled exactly how outspoken and almost domineering she could be between the sheets, and marveled at how easily he ceded control to her. He would never in a million lifetimes have considered himself to be the tiniest bit submissive, though it had admittedly been exciting at times to allow a woman to seduce him - if for no other reason than to spice things up sexually. With Delilah, though, it went far beyond mere seduction and had begun to venture into something more. She liked being on top, had no qualms whatsoever in telling him exactly what she needed or was in the mood for, or even letting him know when she wasn’t in the mood at all and preferred just to cuddle that night.

  He’d never taken a psychology class in his life, had zero experience with most things emotional, but even a novice like himself had quickly realized that Delilah’s need for control was very likely a result of her father’s actions years ago. She had seen with her own eyes the way her mother had been hurt from her father’s constant infidelities, and had suffered through the aftermath of her mother’s suicide and father’s abandonment. It was little wonder, he mused now, that the sort of emotional trauma Delilah had endured would make her determined not to fall victim to the same sort of heartache. And one way to make certain of that was to take control of her life in as many ways as possible - including her sex life.

  Finn realized with some level of surprise that he really didn’t care. Allowing Delilah to take the lead most of the time when it came to their intimate activities didn’t bother him in the least - most of the time, anyway. There were definitely times when he took the upper hand, times when he even dominated her, and oddly enough, those were the encounters when she’d been the most passionate and responsive, and when she’d come the hardest. At those times it felt as though she struggled mightily to give up control, but that when she finally did it was with a sense of mingled relief and bliss, as though she’d been longing for someone to swoop into her life and take her over.

  He would very happily take her over as often as she wished, thought Finn, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead, and smiling when she twitched in response. Nothing would give him greater pleasure than to coddle and spoil and protect this fiercely independent woman who was curled up in his bed fast asleep like a young, innocent girl. But he was well aware that Delilah would fight him every step of the way if he ever even hinted that she needed a champion, or even someone to give her advice. She was so strong and self-sufficient, in fact, that oftentimes Finn didn’t feel as though she even needed him in her life. He wasn’t used to being with a woman who was this low maintenance, or who made so few demands of him. And he especially wasn’t used to taking a back seat to a woman’s job, as he often found himself doing with Delilah.

  The latter, he acknowledged ruefully, was mostly because the women he’d dated in the past were largely of the bubble-brained, party girl sort, and the majority of them had worked in relatively undemanding professions such as a cocktail waitress, sales clerk, Uber driver, or aerobics instructor. None of them, to his recall, had ever turned down a date with him because they had to work late or prepare for an important staff meeting. And none of them had ever been so devoted to their business that he actually felt jealous of their damned job. Finn had never be
en jealous of another man, had never needed to feel jealous because he was always the guy who got the girl, so being envious and resentful of the time Delilah devoted to her job instead of him was definitely a foreign emotion for him.

  She’d gently but firmly refused his plea to attend a golf tournament last weekend in Palm Springs sponsored by the network, pointing to all the work she still needed to get done for the fall catalog, as well as her upcoming meeting with Bloomingdale’s. He’d been a little miffed at her refusal, not wanting to acknowledge that his feelings were hurt because she had deemed her job that much more important than his. Nor had he wanted to admit that he was more than a little nervous about attending one of these events solo, given all of the many temptations that had been sure to await him in Palm Springs.

  But the thought of Delilah waiting back in San Francisco for him, and the surefire knowledge that he would totally and completely ruin everything good between them if he slipped up even a fraction, was more than enough to keep him on the straight and narrow. His friends and associates attending the golf tournament had been shocked speechless when he’d shown not the slightest interest in any of the attractive women hanging around, and when he had flat out refused to go singles bar hopping that evening. He had kept the drinking to a minimum, and made sure to send Delilah frequent texts and call her twice daily during his absence. Finn had patted himself on the back for having resisted the urge to fall back into his old ways, and had been pleasantly relieved to discover that doing so hadn’t even been all that difficult.

  And coming home to her had been the best feeling in the whole world, he reflected. He’d skipped the champagne brunch on Sunday morning to catch a flight leaving at seven a.m., and made it back to his condo in time to take Delilah out to their own private breakfast. He had been so damned happy to see her, had been so thrilled to pull her into his fierce embrace and kiss her like a starving man, that he’d very nearly blurted out the three little words that had popped into his head seemingly out of nowhere - “I love you”. They were words that he had never in his life uttered to anyone besides his parents, grandparents, and siblings, and ones that he had never imagined himself ever saying to a woman.