My head jerked up as the spoon I was holding clattered to the table. I shoved back from where I was sitting, and stalked over to the slider. The sight that played out in front of me took the air right out of my lungs. A girl, a pretty one, was standing down by Nick’s pool. She had tugged her shirt off and was working her shorts down her thighs. What I thought was a bathing suit, was actually her underwear, and I watched in horror as she removed it too. Without missing a beat, she walked nude around the pool before diving in.
My breath caught as my heart sped up double time. Who the hell was this, and what was she doing swimming in my boyfriend’s pool? I stood there rooted in my spot completely ignoring my phone that was now buzzing on the table, and let my imagination run wild.
Someone wouldn’t just come over unless they were invited. They wouldn’t feel comfortable enough to do that. This woman was beautiful, petite, blonde, curvy in just the right spots…she was another version of Becca. Realization struck, and I began stumbling backward toward the table. My phone had silenced but was now ringing again. I slapped in the general direction of it before making contact and lifting it to my ear.
“Hello,” I stammered.
“Hey Baby,” Nick’s happy voice drifted over the line. “I didn’t wake you did I?”
“No,” I swallowed trying to force the knot that was forming to go away.
“Are you ok? You sound off,” he questioned.
“I’m fine,” I snapped back. “When are you going to be home?”
“Dinnertime…didn’t you get my note?” I could tell he was confused by the way his voice hitched.
“Yeah,” I groaned. “It just seems like I’m getting lots of unexpected surprises today.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” he pushed.
“Nothing…I gotta go,” I clicked the phone off before he could respond. I knew that if I stayed on the line any longer, I was going to say something that I didn’t mean. I needed to find out whom this was before I said anything to Nick.
When my phone started ringing again, and I saw that it was Nick, I pushed the ignore button and growled. I had lost my appetite at this point, so I tossed my bowl of cereal in the sink, and made my way out onto the deck.
The blonde was still swimming in the pool and hadn’t noticed me yet. Anger and hurt surged as I began to pace. When I looked back at the pool, I saw her climbing out, and I decided now was my chance.
“Hey!!! What are you doing?” I shouted as I made my way down to the pool.
The girl jumped slightly as she wrapped her towel around her wet naked body. “Swimming,” she shrugged as is it was obvious as she looked at me.
“I can see,” I snapped. “Why are you swimming here?” I pointed to the pool and then crossed my arms over my chest.
She cocked her head to the side as a smirk slipped into place, “You must be one of Nick’s girls.”
My brow furrowed further as she laughed at me, “Nick and I have an arrangement…I can come over whenever I want honey.”
“Not anymore,” I scowled.
“Says who?” the girl bent over and picked up her clothes.
“Me…his girlfriend,” I began tapping my foot in annoyance.
“Yeah…we’ll see,” she turned to walk back in the direction she’d come. “You all think you’re his girlfriend,” she giggled and tossed her hair over her shoulder. “I know Nick…he doesn’t date.”
As I stood there fuming, I suddenly felt lost and betrayed. Who was this chick, and what the hell did she know about Nick?
ooooooooo
After stewing a bit by the pool, I made my way back inside. I picked up my phone, and noticed I had five missed calls from Nick, and one from Avery. Deciding that I really didn’t want to talk to Nick right now, I dialed my best friend.
“What the hell Leah?” she barked into the phone when she picked up. “Nick called me here in a panic…said he’s been trying to reach you…says you hung up on him.”
“Nick can kiss my ass,” I growled back. “I woke up to find some chick skinny dipping in his pool. When I confronted her, she claimed that they had an understanding, and it was a normal thing for her to be there.”
“Oh shit,” Avery muttered.
“Yeah…exactly. He can kiss my ass,” I flopped down on the couch and squeezed my eyes shut. “I’m tired of his little secrets popping up on me all the time. He can sweat awhile over why I’m pissed.”
“You need to call him,” Avery urged. “He’s going out of his mind, and he’s stuck at work.”
“I don’t need to do anything,” I grumbled. “He should have told me about this. I’m not the one that’s wrong here.”
“What are you going to do?” Avery questioned.
“I don’t know,” I sighed as I heard the door fly open behind me. When I turned around, Nick was standing there fuming. “I gotta go,” I murmured into the phone before disconnecting.
ooooooooo
“What the fuck Leah?” Nick stormed in and stood right in front of me. His jaw was clenched so tight I could see the muscles ticking.
I lifted a shoulder before maneuvering around him to go stand by the back deck.
“You had me worried sick. Why wouldn’t you answer your phone?”
I continued to stand there silently appraising him.
“Answer me!” he bellowed.
“I’m afraid I’ll say something that I’ll regret later!” I narrowed my eyes at him.
“Like what?” he continued to yell.
“Like who’s the chick that was skinny dipping in your pool this morning?” I screamed at him as the tears I’d been fighting made their way to the surface.
Nick’s mouth twisted as horror washed over his face.
“See…that right there is what I mean. Who is she?” I screamed again as the tears ran unchecked down my face.
“It’s not what you think,” he put his hands up and began moving closer to me as his voice softened.
“No…I don’t want to hear it right now,” I turned and stepped out onto the deck.
“Leah…don’t do this,” he begged.
“Do what?” I backed further away from him.
“Run,” he murmured.
“I knew this was a mistake. It hasn’t even been a day, and we’re fighting already. This was a bad idea,” I mumbled as I turned, hurried down the steps, and took off running down the beach leaving Nick standing there with his mouth hanging open.
Chapter 14
Nick
“What the hell just happened?” I growled as I tugged at my hair. Twelve hours ago we were standing in this same spot talking about how we’d finally made it to this point. Now in a matter of minutes, it was slowly crumbling. I gripped the railing of the back deck as I let my head fall forward. I am so stupid. I can’t believe that I forgot to tell her about Callie.
I hadn’t seen Callie in weeks. She’d been traveling with Dwayne to his away games. I guess she was back in town now, and apparently swimming in my pool. It didn’t register to me that it was pretty cold to be swimming. I was going to need to close the pool pretty soon.
“I think I might have pissed off one of your one night stands,” came a shout from next door.
“Speak of the devil,” I chuckled humorlessly.
Callie cringed as she began heading up the steps to where I was standing, “Sorry if I put a wrench in your plans.”
“You put a fucking tornado in my plans,” I grumbled as I turned my head to the side.
Callie’s eyes flashed, “What?”
“That was Leah…the girl I told you about,” I squeezed my eyes shut.
“Oh…” she gasped. “I’m sorry.”
“Yeah well,” I waved my hand in the air. “She’ll be back when she cools off…I hope.”
“Wait! What?” Callie’s forehead wrinkled.
“She took off,” I nodded. “Thinks I’m with you or something.”
“And you let her?” Callie gasped. “You’re worse than I though
t,” she reached over and smacked me in the back of the head.
“Ow! What was that for?” I glared at her.
“I watched you pine away for that girl for a year, now you have her, and you let her run away without going after her,” Callie rolled her eyes.
“Yeah…I am a dumbass,” I shook my head as I watched her grin at me. “I gotta go,” I began trotting down the steps that led toward the beach. “I’ll talk to you later.”
“Go get her stud,” she shouted at my back as I broke into a full on run.
ooooooooo
Leah
As my breath began to come in short gasps, I stopped and doubled over clutching my stomach. I can’t believe I could be so stupid. I knew this would happen. I knew that as soon as I let my guard down something, or should I say someone, would come along and screw things up. I don’t know what I was thinking.
Once I began to get control of my breathing, I turned to gaze out at the ocean. I stood there watching as the waves lapped up on the sand. It was a really pretty fall day, and the sun was high in the sky. Every time a wave would crash it would leave a sparkly effect.
“I can’t believe he let me think that things would be different”. I began to mumble to myself, “Things are never gonna change. It’s always going to be like this as long as we’re together.” I plopped down on the sand and wrapped my arms around my bent knees. My chest tightened as I thought about Nick and what I should do. I needed to get away. We fought so much that we were going to end up ripping whatever this was apart. I needed to get away from him before I destroyed whatever was left of us.
I squeezed my eyes shut, and dropped my forehead down onto my knees as a sob rolled out of me. How was I going to do this? How could I leave? If I’d been paying better attention, I’d have heard him coming.
ooooooooo
“It’s not what you think,” he shouted.
My head popped up as I jumped from being startled. I wiped the tears from my eyes and turned in the direction of his voice. Nick was about twenty feet away and coming to a slow jog. He stopped, and stood there staring at me as his hands dragged down his face.
He began walking toward me again as he panted, “It’s not what you think.”
“Do you honestly believe that I’m gonna buy that?” I glanced up at him and sniffed.
He placed his hands on his thighs as he leaned forward, “Leah…we’re friends.”
My eyes went wide as the words fell from his lips.
“Friends?” I glanced up at him before turning away. “How am I supposed to believe that?”
Nick sat beside me, and moved to wrap his arm around my shoulders. As soon as I felt his fingertips touch my back, I shifted away from him as if he’d burned me.
“I’m telling you the truth,” his eyes softened. “I met Callie right after I moved in. She lives with her boyfriend next door.”
“Why is she swimming in your pool?” I peered up at him as I fought to hold the tears at bay.
“She asked a long time ago if she could. I told her sure. It’s never been a problem before,” he shrugged.
“She was swimming naked!” I snapped. “That’s not something you do in someone else’s pool when you have a boyfriend.”
Nick blew out a breath as he scrubbed his hands down his face, “I’ve never asked her not to. She usually comes over when I’m at work. Her boyfriend is an NFL lineman. He travels a lot for the team. I’m assuming she thought she was alone.”
“That doesn’t make me feel any better,” I narrowed my eyes at him. “I don’t want random chicks coming up to me and acting as if I mean nothing. She thought I was just some one-time thing for you Nick. I can’t do this,” I could feel the tears coming, and I couldn’t hold them back anymore.
“Don’t cry Baby,” he wrapped his arms around me, and this time I let him. “You mean more to me than anything. I’d do anything for you. Tell me what to do to make this better. What do you need from me?”
“I want them to all go away,” I mumbled into his chest as he hugged me. “I’m tired of wondering if I’m going to run into one of your conquests. I’m tired of people thinking that I’m one of your conquests.”
Nick stiffened and pulled back. He lifted my chin with his finger as he stared deep into my eyes, “You’re not one of them. I don’t know how else to prove to you that I love you. You’re it for me Leah. I don’t want anyone else. I’ll tell Callie she can’t use the pool anymore. Will that fix this? I’ll tell her that she can’t come over when I’m not home.”
I tried to smile, but I felt guilty over making him give up this friend. I was threatened by someone I knew very little about. I bit my lip as I thought about it before answering, “No…she can still come swim, but she has to wear a suit.”
“Just so you know, she knows all about you. When I first met her, you were all I talked about,” he leaned his forehead against mine as one side of his mouth curled up. “Can you promise me something?”
I nodded silently as I pulled back to look him in the eyes, “What?”
“Promise me you won’t run anymore. Promise me that the next time you get mad at me that you’ll talk to me, and we’ll work it out,” he begged with his eyes as he stared at me.
“I’ll try,” I murmured as I looked back in the direction of the house. “Promise me that I won’t get any more surprises.”
“Deal,” he nodded as he leaned in to peck me lips.
ooooooooo
After sitting on the beach a while longer, we finally stood and began walking back home. Nick grabbed my hand and laced our fingers together as we walked side-by-side. I felt as if a weight had been lifted as I swung our joined hands between us. Something had changed, I didn’t know what, but we were definitely different.
Deciding to break the silence, I looked over at Nick, “Are you going to get in trouble for leaving work?”
“No,” he shook his head as he glanced over at me. “I had my assistant run practice today…but I can’t make a habit of this.”
I dropped my chin to my chest as I stopped walking effectively pulling us to a stop, “I’m sorry.”
“Hey…none of that,” he smiled at me. “I’m here because I want to be. Don’t ever be sorry for me spending time with you, you got it,” he narrowed his eyes at me trying to be stern but began to lose the battle as a smirk slipped into place.
“Ok,” I began walking again. “So…what do you want to do, Coach?”
“I think a punishment might be in order since you made me run down here to find you,” he eyes darkened as they filled with lust as his tongue slipped out to wet his lower lip.
“What kinda punishment?” my voice squeaked as I released his hand and stepped away from him.
“The kind that involves you being tied down as I torture you with pleasure,” his voice was becoming huskier as he stalked toward me.
“Well Coach…” I turned ready to take off. “You’ll have to catch me first,” I released a squeal as I took off running down the beach toward the house.
“Oh I will,” he shouted after me, “and I’ll make you pay for this,” he taunted as he took off in a sprint after me.
Knowing that he would catch me if I wasn’t careful, I tuned out everything around me and went back to my days as a runner.
ooooooooo
When I got back to the house, I climbed the steps quietly, hoping that Nick wouldn’t hear me. I’d lost sight of him about halfway there.
“Going somewhere?” his amused voice rang through the air breaking the silence.
I froze mid-step as my body shivered with anticipation in what he had in store for me.
“No,” I swallowed as I tried to calm myself before turning around to glance at him.
“Funny,” he smirked as he scanned me from head to toe. “The way you’re sneaking around here says otherwise.”
“Sneaking?” I dropped my gaze to the ground in front of me. “I wasn’t sneaking.”
“Mmmm hmmm,” Nick nodded as moved to
stand right in front of me. We were so close I could feel his breath as it tickled the baby hairs along the side of my face. “Turn around and go up the stairs,” he commanded.
When I got to the top and walked over to the slider, he pressed into my back allowing me to feel his desire, “open the door and wait for me.”
Before I could say anything, he disappeared and left me standing there. I did as he asked, and trembled with excitement. Nick and I had never experimented with this type of thing before. I had no idea what he had planned for me, but he seemed to know what he was doing.
ooooooooo
Once in the living room, I decided I wanted to see how far I could push this. Grinning, I reached for the hem of my shirt and pulled it over my head. I dropped it by my feet and looked back in the direction of the door, still no Nick. Taking a deep breath, I pushed my yoga pants down over my hips and stepped out of them. I walked a few feet in the direction of the bedroom and dropped them to the floor too. Just as I was reaching for the clasp on my bra, I heard him.
“I thought I told you to wait for me,” he growled as he slammed the door behind himself. “Do you know how to listen?”
I lifted my shoulders in a careless move and rolled my eyes at him, “Not really.”
“I can see that,” he muttered as he began stalking toward me.
When he reached me, he stopped, grabbed my wrist, and began tugging me in the direction of the bedroom. I yelped in surprise and then giggled when he turned his glare on me.
“So…about this punishment…” I trailed off.
Nick stopped by the side of the bed, and turned me to face him, “You trust me…right?”
I scrunched up my nose as I tipped my head to the side, “Trust you about?”
“About this kinda stuff,” he ran his hand down my bare arm. “You know I won’t hurt you.”
I shivered at the contact and let my eyes flutter close, “Mmmm hmmm,” I moaned.
“Good,” he groaned as he jogged over to the closet and disappeared inside.
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