Swimming For Love - A Standalone Novel (A Bad Boy Sports Romance Love Story) (Burbank Brothers, Book #1)

by Niles, Naomi

  “Thank you for trusting me with that secret,” Jessica said.

  Her hand was soft in mine and suddenly I couldn’t stand the space between us. I pushed aside the tray and pulled her toward me. She settled into my lap and I held her close, kissing her neck, her chin, her cheeks, and her mouth.

  “Tell me something real about yourself,” I said, repeating the same words she had used only moments before.

  Her arms were around my neck; her body was nestled in the crook of my arms. She was looking down at me and her green eyes were suddenly scared. “I’m a virgin,” she said softly.

  My body froze even as my mind went reeling in a thousand different directions. A virgin? I hadn’t expected that. The thought scared me… did I really want to sleep with her, knowing that she was a virgin? Did I really want the responsibility of being her first? I could see myself in a relationship with this woman, but we were only just getting started and her first time should be with someone she was already in love with.

  She stared at me for a second longer and then she leaned in and kissed me. Her hands explored my chest before they sneaked down to the waistband of my trousers. I so badly wanted to give in to all my desires and let the moment take its course, but I needed to be a decent guy. I needed to do the right thing so that she wouldn’t hate me later.

  “Jessica,” I said, pulling away from her. “Stop.”

  “Why?” she asked breathlessly.

  “We can’t do this.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Jessica

  “We can’t do this.”

  I barely heard Alan’s words above the beating of my heart, which was so loud that it seemed possible that he might hear it, too. “Why not?” I asked, surprising myself.

  He reached out and grazed my cheek with the back of his hand. “You’re a virgin,” he said gently. It was not an accusation. It was simply a statement. He was trying to understand, and I knew I owed him an explanation.

  I extricated myself from his lap and moved a short distance away so that there was space between our bodies, and we could see each other clearly. “Yes, I am,” I said, trying not to let the shame seep into my tone.

  “I… want to,” Alan said softy. “You have no idea how much I want you right now…”

  “But?”

  “Your first time should be special,” Alan said. “Your first time should be with someone you love.”

  I sighed and shook my head. “I decide when my first time is going to be.”

  “You’re not… scared?” Alan asked.

  I didn’t expect that question from him. I hesitated for a moment. His light-blue eyes were almost hypnotizing. I could feel the buzz of alcohol shoot through my system, and I realized that it was giving me the liquid courage I needed to have this conversation.

  “I thought I would be,” I said at last. “But I realize that I’m not anymore. I am nervous, but that’s all.”

  Alan nodded. I could see that he was nervous, too… and perhaps even a little wary. I couldn’t blame him. I had just confessed that I was a twenty-three-year-old virgin who was still living at home with her controlling and overprotective parents. It was a lot for a guy to process right before he took your virginity.

  “You’ve been with a lot of girls, haven’t you, Alan?” I asked.

  He looked up at me. “Yes,” he replied honestly. “I have.”

  “Do you remember your first time?”

  His eyes turned back into the past and I knew he was remembering everything. “It’s true what they say,” Alan replied. “You never forget your first time, no matter how old you are. Her name was Sharon Heely, and she was my third swimming coach.”

  “She was your coach?” I asked in surprise.

  “I was sixteen and she was… well, she was older,” Alan replied. “It probably wasn’t the most appropriate relationship, if you can even call it a relationship, but… it was a good experience.”

  “Were you in love with her?” I asked.

  “I thought I was at the time.” Alan smiled. “But no… I don’t think I could even grasp the concept of love at that point… at least not romantic love.”

  “But you wouldn’t take back that experience, would you?” I asked. “Even though you weren’t in love with Sharon Heely.”

  Alan smiled. “I guess not.”

  “What was the first time like for you?” I asked quietly.

  It was a strange moment. Alan and I sat across from one another talking about the intimacies of sex while the promise of sex sat between us like a third person. It should have felt strange, too, but somehow it didn’t. I didn’t know what Alan was feeling, but his light-blue eyes were calm and the panic had ebbed slightly.

  “The first time,” Alan repeated. “It was… a revelation.” He smiled for a moment as though he were amused with his own words. “It was like a coming-of-age moment. It was the first time I felt like a man.”

  “Maybe that’s it,” I said thoughtfully. “Maybe it’s more about the moment… maybe it’s more about what you discover about yourself, than the person you’re with.”

  Alan looked at me carefully and nodded. “Maybe it is,” he said, as though he was seeing me for the first time.

  I was emboldened by the pulsating music beating from downstairs, by the alcohol flowing through my system, by the magic and freedom of this unexpected night. I leaned in and kissed Alan slowly. He didn’t move at first, and then I felt his lips part underneath mine. His tongue entwined with mine and his hands came up around my body, pulling me to him once again.

  The kissing deepened until his breath was mixed in with mine, and I couldn’t tell the difference between the two. I had never had a man kiss me like that before, and I knew immediately that this was a man with experience. Rather than be bothered by that thought, I was excited by it. I wanted a man who knew what he was doing. I wanted a man who could open my eyes to the pleasures of sex.

  Gently, Alan pushed me backward so that he was lying on top of me. He kissed my lips and then traveled downward to the nape of my neck. Finally, he landed on my breasts and he kissed the exposed skin there before he pulled back.

  “Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked, looking into my eyes for any sigh of doubt.

  “I’m sure,” I replied with certainty.

  His response was to peel away my dress, strap by strap, until my breasts were exposed completely. He didn’t hide the fact that he was staring. He lay over me as his hands explored the light curves of my breasts and the hard points of my nipples. I shuddered under his touch, but there was no fear attached to it. There was only expectation.

  Slowly, he peeled away my dress until I was lying on his bed in nothing but my underwear. He got to his knees and pulled off my black, cotton panties. My heart thudded against my chest, completely aware of the fact that I was completely naked and he wasn’t. Almost as though he had heard that thought, Alan pulled off his shirt and shoved off his pants and underwear in the same motion.

  I could only stare. He was chiseled perfection. His arms were toned and muscled, his chest looked as though it had been carved from stone, and his six-pack barely looked real. My eyes fell to his groin and I took in the size of him. His penis was long and hard. I resisted the urge to reach out and touch it. The sight of it excited me to no end, and I felt myself moisten.

  He lay back down next to me, and I could feel his erection against my thigh. He traced the skin between my breasts all the way down until he reached the space between my thighs. Gently, he parted my thighs and ran his fingers up and down my slit. He leaned in at the same time and kissed me slowly, gently, as though we had all the time in the world.

  It was while he was kissing me that he slipped his fingers inside me. I gasped, breaking off our kiss.

  “Is this okay?” he asked gently, as he moved his long fingers in and out of me.

  “It’s amazing,” I managed to say before my eyes closed and my back arched.

  He went slowly. He took his time and the lo
nger it went on, the more my body came alive. I was so aware of my own body that it thrilled me. I had never experienced this kind of satisfaction before. It was the kind of feeling that made you feel confident.

  After a few minutes, Alan removed his fingers and I opened my eyes, craving more and more and more. He sat up and reached for his bedside table drawer. He got out a condom and ripped it from its packaging. Then I watched as he unrolled it onto his erect penis.

  Then he started kissing me gently as he re-positioned himself on top of me. He continued to kiss me as he pushed himself gently inside of me. His penis was huge, and I gasped again, despite how careful he was not to hurt me. The moment of discomfort lasted only a fleeting second before the pain gave way to a searing pleasure that I could barely wrap my head around.

  “Are you okay?” Alan asked in my ear. “Did I hurt you?”

  “No,” I said with my eyes closed. I could feel the entire length of him inside me, and it made me feel whole, as though I had finally found the missing piece of my own body.

  He moved inside me slowly, a rhythmic back and forth motion that allowed me the freedom to take in every moment and every new sensation. His face hung over mine and at one point we just stared into each other’s eyes as he fucked me. It didn’t feel strange or overly intimate. It just felt right. It felt natural.

  “Would you like to get on top?” Alan asked.

  The question sent a new wave of thrills shooting through my body, and I immediately I knew I wanted to do it. I nodded, and he grabbed a hold of me and rolled onto his back so that I was on top and he was still inside me. It was amazing how different this position felt, as though Alan was even deeper inside me. I kept my hands on his chest and then I started moving on top of him, back and forth in slow movements until I gained some confidence.

  Alan’s eyes closed as though he were trying to control himself. His hands were on my hips and sometimes they fell to my ass. His grip tightened at moments, as though he were trying to hold on. As my confidence built, I started to move a little faster, up and down so that I could feel his penis slide in and out of me.

  My body sang. There was no other way to describe it. It was like I was feeling everything all at once and it was too much but I still wanted to keep going. After a moment, I realized I was moaning aloud; I was even screaming.

  “Do you want me to make you come?” Alan asked.

  “Yes,” I moaned. “Yes.”

  He grabbed a hold of my waist, pulled his legs up behind me and started pushing himself into me. It wasn’t hard, but it was fast, and my body responded to the speed and the wave that was about to hit. I was on top, but he was the one who was in control. I grabbed a hold of his chest, threw back my head and moaned loudly as I orgasmed.

  After it was over, I sat atop him, breathing heavily as his fingers ran up and down my legs and thighs. His eyes were fixed on mine, and I could tell that he had enjoyed himself, too. I could see the steady rise and fall of his broad chest and the little sweat beads that had formed there.

  “How do you feel?” he asked after a few silent moments.

  I feel free,” I replied.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Alan

  I woke up with Jessica’s body curled around my own and her head on my chest. Her hair was strewn across my arm and her breathing was coming in a gentle, unhurried rhythm. She was sleeping so soundly that I didn’t want to move for fear I’d wake her up.

  I had the strangest feeling nestled in the pit of my stomach, and I could barely put my finger on it. I found strange comfort having Jessica so close to me. Her subtle scent clawed at me just like the memories of the night before. I rubbed my hand across her naked back, remembering the way it had felt to be inside her.

  I had slept with a lot of women before Jessica, and yet somehow there was something different about this time. Last night had meant more to me than all those other women combined. I kissed the top of Jessica’s head without thinking, surprisingly myself with the gesture. That was not something I did. Jessica was more than just another sexual partner. True, we’d had sex and yes, it had been amazing, but the sex had been fueled by emotion, not lust.

  I remembered those straggling moments leading up to the sex. She had admitted personal details about herself and so had I. We had bared our souls and then fallen into each other’s arms. It was the kind of thing that formed a bond, no matter how hard you tried to resist it.

  I glanced slowly at Langdon’s empty bed and wondered momentarily where he was. I could hear movement outside my door and knew a few of the guys were already up. I woke Jessica gently, saying her name softly and rubbing my hands against her back in slow circles.

  She blinked her eyes open, revealing little flecks of brown hidden amidst the green of her eyes. Her dirty-blonde hair was flung in all directions, yet she still managed to look sexy. Her eyes focused on me and for a moment, I had the horrible fear that she might freak out that we were both naked and in bed together. But then awareness dawned in her eyes and she smiled.

  “Hi,” she said.

  I smiled back with relief. “Hi.”

  She sat up and blinked at the half-open window that I’d forgotten to close the night before. “It’s bright in here.”

  “I can close the drapes,” I said.

  “What time is it?” Jessica asked, reaching for her phone.

  Before I could answer, she glanced at her phone and gasped. “Oh God,” she breathed. “It’s late.”

  “We slept in a bit.” I smiled. “Nothing wrong with that.”

  “I have to go,” she said urgently, jumping out of my bed and trying to find her clothes.

  “What?” I asked in surprise. “What’s the rush?”

  “My father,” she said in a panic. “He’ll wonder where I am. I told him I’d be back first thing in the morning.”

  “Couldn’t you call and make an excuse?” I asked, as I found her dress and passed it to her.

  She grabbed it and pulled it on. “No,” she replied distractedly. “I have to go. Oh no!”

  “What’s wrong?” I asked in alarm.

  “I’ll have to go the girl’s house first,” she exclaimed. “My clothes are over there.”

  “I can come with you?”

  “No, it’s fine,” Jessica said, the thought of her father’s reaction clearly weighing heavily on her mind. “Where are my shoes?”

  “Over there in the corner,” I pointed out.

  Jessica grabbed them in one hand and headed for the door. She turned around at the last second and looked at me. “I’ll see you soon, Alan. Sorry I have to rush off like this.”

  Then she was out the door. I wrapped a towel around my waist and followed her into the corridor. “Are you sure you don’t have time for breakfast?”

  “Not today,” she replied, without slowing her pace. She disappeared down the stairs, and I stood there, feeling alone and deflated.

  I walked back into my room after a moment and sat down heavily on my bed. Then I grabbed my phone and dialed Langdon’s number. It took a while, but he answered finally.

  “Hey, dude!” he greeted happily. “What’s up?”

  “Where are you?” I asked.

  “You took the room last night,” Langdon said, but he didn’t sound accusatory.

  “Yeah, I’m sorry,” I said.

  “Sorry?” Langdon repeated. “Don’t be sorry, you dirty dog. You got some last night, didn’t you?”

  I rolled my eyes. “Where are you?” I asked again.

  “Winnie took me over to the girl’s house, considering my room was taken,” Langdon said pointedly. “We fucked here.”

  “Are you still over there?”

  “I’m leaving now,” Langdon replied. “Should be there in five. And I want to know why you shut me out of my own room for the night.”

  With that, he hung up and I was left with the silence again. I brushed my teeth, threw on some clothes, and headed downstairs to the kitchen. There was no one around when I walked
in and that was fine with me. I opened the fridge and got out the bread and two cartons of eggs. They were sizzling on the fire when Langdon showed up. He had managed to find clothes. He was wearing black sweats and a shirt that was far too small for him.

  “Hey, buddy,” he greeted me happily. “Great party huh?”

  “It was epic,” I agreed. “Just like you promised.”

  “I’m still the king of parties,” Langdon said with triumph.

  He opened the fridge and grabbed the orange juice, exposing the thong he was wearing underneath the sweats.

  “What the hell are you wearing?” I demanded.

  Langdon shrugged. “She’s a freak… don’t judge me.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh as Langdon hiked up his sweats. “I take it that you and Winnie finally made it to the finish line?”

  “Fuck,” Langdon said, turning to me and shaking his head in disbelief. “Did we ever.”

  “And was it as magical as you had imagined it would be?”

  Langdon winked at me. “It was better.”

  “Good to know.” I shoveled the scrambled eggs into a massive breakfast platter. “Pass me the frozen croissants in the freezer, will you? I’m gonna toast a few.”

  “Toast the lot,” Langdon told me. “I’m starving. I had a massive work out last night.”

  “Spare me the details please.”

  “Come on, man,” Langdon said in a voice of mock outrage. “I was planning to brag.”

  “That I can do without,” I said, giving him a warning look.

  “Fine,” Langdon huffed as he threw a large packet of sausages at me. “Then you can at least tell me about your night.”

  I took my time throwing the sausages into the frying pan. “It was good.”

  “Just good?” Langdon asked. “Does that mean it was bad?”

  I rolled my eyes. “Of course not.”

  “Did you sleep with Jessica?” Langdon asked, coming a little closer to me and lowering his voice.

  I glanced at him. “Yes.”

  He smacked me in the arm. “You sexy bastard,” he cried. “I knew she wouldn’t be able to resist you.”