by Aja Cole
“You want it?” He murmurs.
“Yes.” I reach my hand back to rake it through his hair, pulling him to me.
“How bad?” He nibbles on my neck.
“Really bad,” I whisper. “Like bad enough that if you don’t stop teasing me, I’m going to go buy a dildo and finish the job.”
He laughs in my ear, a deep, body shaking laugh that makes me laugh too. I’ve never laughed during sex like this, never felt so light and silly while being completely on fire.
“Woman, any dildo you get will pale in comparison and you know it.” Confident, sexy…and completely right. But I won’t tell him that. I start to be a smartass, but he lifts my leg just enough to notch his cock at my entrance and I lose any words I might’ve said to anticipation.
He slides into me on a tight glide, and it feels like I can feel every inch, every vein as I clench around him. Thick and decadent. Right.
He hitches a heavy leg over me, pushing my thighs together and making me even tighter around him.
Deep, slow, languorous…he groans against my ear and whispers against me.
Sweet, silly, sexy…he’s all of that and more.
“Come with me, Keyra.” He rubs my clit rhythmically with the pads of his fingers and I strain against him, gasping. “Please.” He rasps.
That one, desperately whispered word sends me flying, and we soar together, moaning and clutching at each other.
He pets my mound softly and I shudder, lacing my hand through his other where it’s resting on my breast.
We just lay there for a little bit, quiet and content. I feel warm and happy and…like the possibilities are real this time. There’s no confusion.
Yeah, there are things we still have to cover, but knowing where he stands this time…it makes all the difference.
“We should get up,” I mumble.
“Mhm.” He agrees, kissing my shoulder.
“I have a lot to do today.”
“Me too.” His thumb strokes gently over the slope of my breast, leisurely.
I clutch him closer to me. I don’t want this feeling to end yet. I want to roll in it. Bottle it and spray it on me every single morning.
“You don’t seem like you’re in a hurry to get up.” I sigh. “And you not, means I don’t want to either.”
“That reminds me, you never gave me an answer.”
I grin, biting my lip. “Well, the thing is…”
“Keyra, I fucking swear.” He leans up quickly on an elbow, and without him right behind me, my back falls to the bed and I’m looking up at him. “Damn, forgot about the condom.” He throws the cover back and reaches down.
“You better not have gotten sperm on my bedsheets.” I tease, scooting away. He slides off the other side of the bed, waddling to the bathroom and I can’t help by laugh at how ridiculous he looks.
He pokes his head out, pointing at me. “We’re dating.” He disappears, closing the door, and I look at the slight wet spot on the bed before I flop onto my back and beat my hands and feet on the bed like an excited teenager.
I’m dating Dane.
Fuck yeah.
Everything’s falling into place.
22
Dane
“I can’t believe you convinced me to do this.” She groans, and I grin up at her from where I’m tightening her skates.
“It’s going to be fun and romantic.” I tease, wiggling the sake to make sure it’s secure.
“This isn’t romantic, it’s terrifying.” She purses her lips as I stand, and I put a hand on my chest.
“You mean this isn’t going to get me laid?”
“You’re not laying anything if I have a bruised tailbone.” She says and I step onto the ice, holding out my hands to her. She looks at me skeptically but shuffles forward in the skates and grips my forearms as she puts one skate on the ice.
“But that just means I can kiss it better.” I wink. “Come on, I know you aren’t scared.”
“I’m not scared, I’m worried about the risk of me being on this ice with zero experience.” She squeezes her eyes shut and steps her second foot on the ice, hands gripping my arms hard.
“Well you’re not dead so, you can open your eyes. And that’s basically the definition of scared.”
“I would insult you, but I don’t want you to let me go.” She peeks an eye open and I shake my head.
I skate backward and she has no choice but to follow. “Good, just one foot in front of the other.” The mix of determination and terror on her face is something I want to capture and frame on my wall.
“See? It’s not that bad.” I slide my arms from under her hands until we’re just holding hands.
“You better not let me go.” She says, but she looks a little more grounded. “Tell me about your dad to distract me.”
“When I said he was dead, I meant he was dead to me. I don’t like him, we don’t have a relationship and haven’t for awhile. First time I saw him in a long time was when he came and told me about Addison. That cover it?” I keep skating backward and we do one lap around the rink. Slowly, I let go of one of her hands and she stumbles a bit.
“Just one foot in front of the other, no different than when I had both of your hands.” I guide, and soon we’re skating slowly side by side. I’m conscious of not speeding up and keeping her pace.
“And you’re okay with that? You don’t want to fix things with him?”
“No. Things can’t be fixed all the time. He wasn’t the best father, but he was an even worse man.”
“And your mom? Are they on good terms?”
“No. She’s had a long-term partner for most of my life.” I watch her out of the side of my eye, staring at the ice with pure concentration.
That’s Keyra for you. Even if she doesn’t know what the hell she’s doing, she’ll make all the effort until she does.
“And your mom knew about Addison? Are you still mad at her? You pretty much talked to her at the same time every week, even if we were hanging out.”
“I’m a little mad, but it’s not like my mom was hanging out with Addison all these years. She just heard that she was pregnant, but my mom didn’t know if it was mine or my coach’s - so she didn’t say anything. I wish she had, but,” I shrug, “I know now and that’s what matters.”
Keyra stops skating and I glance at her. “You okay?”
She slides towards me, grabbing my other hand and interlacing our fingers.
“I’m proud of you, how well you’re handling things.”
“I can’t take all the credit. It became surprisingly easy to focus on the good the minute I laid eyes on that kid.”
“She’s a really cute kid. Your genes did well.”
“Why, thank you.” I lower my head, placing her arms around my neck and sliding mine around her back. I take her mouth with mine, drawn to her like a magnet, and I can’t explain the feeling of having her soft and full lips beneath mine.
Only that it feels like home.
23
Keyra
I’ve never really liked holding hands, but I can’t keep my hands off Dane.
I’m also a little nervous right now.
“She already has a nickname for you, you have nothing to worry about.”
“What if she hates my baking?” I stare at the door. “Shit, she’s not allergic to anything, is she?”
“The only thing Addi is allergic to is sitting still. Now come on, Michelle apparently has a date tonight.” He unlocks his door and pulls me inside, and I clutch my bag of baking things closer.
Michelle looks up from where she and Addison are picking up cards from the floor.
“The kid has beaten me at nearly every game we played.” Michelle ruffles Addi’s hair and stands. “It’s been fun, little one.” She puts out a hand for a high five and Addison smacks it, then runs over to us.
“Miss Michelle said we’re gonna bake, Kiki. Is that true? Are we gonna bake?” She bounces on her toes, green eyes wide and wavy cu
rls flopping around her and I laugh, immediately at ease. The little girl is infectious.
“That’s right. What do you like best?”
She gets a very serious look on her face, obviously taking some real time to think about the best answer. “Brownies! Double triple chocolate brownies with lootttss of chocolate chips.”
“I think we can do that. Should we let Daddy help us?” We both look at Dane.
“Hmmmm only if Daddy is going to listen to me!” She decides, and I wink at Dane.
“I’m a great listener.” He rumbles, scooping her up in his arms and tickling her while he cradles her and she shrieks. They go into the kitchen.
Damn if I don’t feel a little pang in my chest watching him.
“Ping.” Michelle pokes me in the butt as she passes, and I whip around.
“What was that for?”
“That was cupid’s arrow hitting you straight in the ass.” She whispers, mirth in her voice. “Bye Dane! Bye Addison!” She calls out and they respond, then she lowers her voice, pointing to me. “Love looks good on you, kiddo.”
Before I can answer, she wiggles her fingers and closes the door, leaving me standing there.
“Kiki, are you coming? Daddy’s gonna eat all the chocolate chips.”
“Yeah, Kiki. And you know how Daddy loves chocolate.” Dane yells, all types of inappropriateness in his voice, and I press my lips together to keep from laughing.
“If Daddy doesn’t get his hands out of my chocolate chips, he won’t get any later.” I widen my eyes as I go into the kitchen, skirting around Dane because he has a mischievous look in his eye.
“Touché, Kiki.” He murmurs, passing the bowl to Addi. “Touché.”
24
Dane
I close the door behind me quietly, not knowing if Nat and Addison are still asleep or not. I went to Keyra’s after they went to sleep, and went for a run this morning.
“Hey, you just getting in?” Natalie’s sitting at the desk at the edge of the room on her computer, sipping from a coffee cup. Her long hair is in one of those fish-tail braid things and I’m struck by how much younger she looks this way. When we were together, she was much more into not being seen without makeup and regularly dyed her dark hair blonde.
“Went for a run, but kind of, yeah.” I feel a little guilty. Awkward.
“Get that look off your face.” She demands, putting her cup down and pointing to the couch. “And tell me more about her.”
“Is this the type of relationship we have?” I don’t know how comfortable I am.
“Well if you can’t quite tell me as a friend, then tell me as Addison’s mother, since any woman in your life is in my daughter’s life. Is that better?”
“Strangely, yes.” I drop onto the couch, blowing out a breath. “She still sleep?”
“Yep. Some mornings, she doesn’t get up before the sun thankfully.”
“So…I don’t really know where to start.”
“Well, I know her name and what she looks like. Addison likes her. What does she do? How’d you meet? How long have you been together?”
“She’s her father’s campaign manager, or was, she’s on a little break now. But she’s also an amazing baker and the most protective person of her loved ones that I’ve ever met. Harlan is dating her sister and has been since last year, and that’s how we met. We’ve officially been together for,” I look at my watch. “About a week and a few hours.”
She doesn’t say anything for a bit, and I wonder if I said something bad.
“What?”
She lowers her head, turning the cup in her hands. “I guess I just…you really like her. Even the look on your face is like you’re happy even just talking about her.”
I nod, not really understanding what she’s getting at. “Yeah. I guess I am. She’s pretty special. Is that bad? You don’t sound too happy about it.”
“I am! It’s just…it’s different seeing it.”
“What you said the other night is what made me realize I should go for it. You didn’t mean what you said?”
“I thought I did.” She gives a half shrug and a small smile. “And that’s nothing to do with you and everything to do with me. I guess a little part of me thought that…we’d do the family thing. I’m different now…you’re even better.” She laughs a little. “And I kind of wanted to see where things could go this time.”
“Shit Nat…I…I had no idea.” I look away and scratch my face, completely at a loss. Damn.
“I know.” She bobs her head, “I know you didn’t, and it’s fine. It was really only in my head. Really. Watching you just now, I know that ship has sailed.” She brings the mug to her lips again. “So when do I get to meet her as your girlfriend and not just accidentally?”
“Ahhh.” I hedge, rolling my shoulders. I mean, she just said she thought we’d get back together.
Part of me trusts this new Natalie and another part just needs a little more time. But I don’t want to tell her that because I suspect it’ll hurt her feelings.
“Let’s just…give it a little more time.”
“Okay. Well, just let me know and we can have dinner or something.” My facial expression must change because she hurries to add. “With your friends too. We’ll make it a thing. I still haven’t met the guys here. Feels like they’re avoiding me.”
It’s because they definitely have been. They don’t trust that she’s changed.
“Yeah. Sure. We’ll figure it out.” I stand. “Gotta make sure I’ve got all my shit to leave for the road game.”
“Of course. Good talk.” She nods, turning back to her computer and I head to my room, shaking my head.
What an interesting morning.
I lean my head against the seat-rest, closing my eyes. I’m about to get a nice little nap when I feel someone plop down next to me.
Or rather, a few someones.
“Who needs teenage girls when you guys are around?” I grumble. I peek open an eye, and sure enough, Harlan is next to me and Leo and Hanson are across from me.
They all have this cat ate the canary look on their faces, and I roll my eyes.
I snatch my headphones off and cover my eyes with a hand before looking up again.
“What do you want?”
“Don’t be stingy with the details man. You haven’t said a thing in days and I saw you two at Hanson’s party the other week. What’s up with you and Keyra?” Leo leans forward, large arms bulging and body barely fitting into the seat. His physique is in stark contrast to the eager expression on his face.
“We’re together.” I shrug.
They all whoop and high five, and I can’t help but grin. Damn fools.
“Did anyone ever think we’d see the day?” Hanson puts a hand over his heart, looking up at the ceiling.
“It feels like just yesterday that he was going on a drunken tangent about how women can’t ever be trusted.” Harlan sniffs, wiping away an imaginary tear.
“I’d like to say, on behalf of men everywhere, that we are so happy to see you grow and prosper.” Leo motions to the flight attendant, and she comes over with a hopeful grin.
“Something I can help you with?”
“Can we have 4 white cherry Powerades, please. We’d like to make a toast.”
I laugh, and the flight attendant nods her head, leaving to get the drinks. We try not to drink much alcohol during the season.
She comes back and she’s even poured them into champagne flutes and I’m struck by how absolutely ridiculous my friends are.
“Here you are, gentlemen. What’s the occasion?”
“Our boy is finally a man,” Harlan says seriously, and she raises an amused brow but doesn’t ask any more questions. We thank her and Hanson raises his glass, blue eyes lit with laughter and dare I say it…a little love.
“To Dane, finally done with his cynical bullshit and accepting a good woman into his life.” He says.
“And to meeting his daughter, who luckily didn�
�t get his ugly mug and is the most charming little girl I’ve ever met,” Leo adds.
“To this team, and making it to the playoffs because we’ve got some pretty damn good men on our side.” Harlan winks.
I look down, a little overwhelmed. In such a short amount of time, it seems like my life is overflowing with more than I could’ve dreamed up and I’m so appreciative.
“And to having the best and most supportive friends a man could ask for,” I say thickly, clearing my throat.
“Cheers!” Harlan says and we clink our glasses, drinking the Powerade. White cherry is really the best flavor.
“So…can I take that nap now?” I smirk, and they huff, rising and clapping me on the shoulder or ruffling my hair as they leave for their seats.
“Get your beauty rest, queen.” Harlan teases, and I slide my headphones back on, reclining my seat.
I can’t keep the grin off my face.
25
Keyra
“Keyra!” I turn at the counter of the coffee shop, seeing Charlie.
“Charlie.” I smile, putting my to-go cup down and hugging him.
He’s as crisp as ever, perfectly groomed and not a single thing out of place.
“I haven’t seen you at our usual haunts lately, you leaving me to the circuit alone?” He asks, referring to the networking I usually do.
“Just taking a little break. Recharging. You have time to catch up?”
“Yeah.” He checks his Apple Watch, swiping his finger over the screen. “I think I can do that.”
“Wonderful.” I lead the way to an empty table tucked into a corner and sit, putting my tea in front of me and letting the cup warm my hands. “Do you mind if I chew gum? My stomach’s been a little upset this week and gum’s the only thing that makes it go away for whatever reason.”
“Of course. Wouldn’t want you to sit here miserable. How’s everything been?” He leans forward, deep brown eyes earnest. So trustworthy, that face.