Touch

by Kris Bryant

  I place tiny kisses on her thighs and work my way back up until I can kiss her on her lips. She is still breathing hard and holds me close. I rest my head on her shoulder and listen to her speeding heart slow with every heavy breath. I can’t stop myself from touching her. I’m fascinated with her body. I know it so well, but I’m really learning it for the first time.

  Chapter Twenty-five

  I wake up alone. I crack an eye at the clock. It’s eight thirty-three. I feel like I need another four hours of rest. What time did we finally go to sleep? I sit up and wonder if Stone is still here. I can’t imagine she would leave without telling me. Did she and I slept through it? I drag myself to the bathroom for a quick primping session in case she’s still here. I grab fresh shorts and a T-shirt and head for the kitchen. Stone’s sitting at the kitchen table, her leg propped up on another chair and wrapped in ice. She’s engrossed in something on her phone and doesn’t hear me come in.

  “You should have woken me up.” I walk toward her. “How’s your ankle?”

  She grabs for me when I walk by her and pulls me into her lap. “Good morning, you. I figured you needed sleep. You are, after all, older than I am.” She kisses me soundly.

  I poke her side. “Older and wiser. Did you get any sleep at all?” I lean over and kiss the corner of her mouth. I blush, remembering the last nine hours of my life.

  “Yes. I don’t need a lot of sleep. Plus, we have a game and I have to get to the arena by ten,” she says.

  I jump up. “I forgot about that. I’m going to cook you breakfast. Please. It’s the least I can do.” She follows me into the kitchen, her hands still on me. “Elizabeth, go sit down or make coffee.”

  She pulls me to her. “Thank you. Last night was very special for me.” She places a delicate kiss on my lips.

  “For me, too. Are you okay with everything?” I don’t even know what that means. “I know it was kind of fast and we were going to wait.”

  “It was perfect. Really. The game, you, us. I wouldn’t change anything,” she says.

  I smile and slip out of her arms. “Sit down, champ. I need to cook you breakfast for your big game today.” She relents and heads back to the table. I know she is watching me. I’m positive I will always be aware of her. Her intensity is hard to miss. I find that I like her watching me. I gather up ingredients for scrambled eggs and bacon. She nods her head in approval. I get the bacon hot and sizzling before starting the eggs. “Are you good with toast?”

  “Definitely. Can I at least make that?” I nod and she jumps up, anxious to help.

  “So tell me about your game today. Who are you playing? How is your ankle? Do you think the coach will put you in?”

  “And the last lesbian on Earth who didn’t know anything about hockey is now excited about it.” Stone raises her arms in victory and makes tiny, quiet celebratory noises.

  “What’s my prize?” I ask.

  Her body presses against mine. Her hands run down the curves of my waist until they reach my hips. She pulls me back into her, the intent obvious. She nuzzles my neck, then moves her lips up to my ear. “Whatever you want,” she whispers. I shiver. She tightens her grip on my hips, then releases me only to run her hands down my shorts.

  “It’s really hard to concentrate on not burning your food when you’re touching me like this.” I have to put both hands on the stove to keep from falling forward.

  “Am I a distraction?” She turns my face toward her to kiss me. I lean back, my lips captured by hers in a demanding and passionate kiss. I break it only to look at the food on the stove, which is starting to look and smell a little done.

  “I just want to give you a nice breakfast since you have a busy afternoon. Toast,” I command. She backs away, her hands up in the air as if surrendering, and pops the bread into the toaster.

  “I’ll eat anything you want me to.” Her double entendre and wicked smile doesn’t deter me from salvaging breakfast. I pour orange juice and milk while she butters the toast.

  “This is a lot of food,” she says after I fix our plates.

  “Yeah, I probably went overboard, but I really don’t know what you need before a game.”

  “Carbs and protein. Some fruit.” She stops me when I get up to slice some grapefruits and oranges. “Orange juice is fine. I did eat pasta last night so I still have carbs to burn. This is perfect, Hayley.”

  I sit back down, still worried that I haven’t prepared the right kinds of food. “Bacon probably isn’t on your list.”

  She laughs and stares at the five pieces on her plate. “I love bacon. Don’t take it away from me. That’s just cruel.”

  “I’ll know better for next time you’re here.”

  “So there’ll be a next time?” she asks.

  “It’s a good thing you have a game because if you didn’t, we would not be in the kitchen right now. We’d be back in the bedroom getting to know each other better.” I’m rewarded with the genuine smile that makes my heart tremble. Ignoring the throbbing of my libido, I try to keep the conversation mature and not worry if I satisfied her. I’m assuming I did something right because she’s still here. Last night is such a blur. “What does the team normally do after Sunday games?”

  “We’ll hang around for autographs and photos with the kids. I should be done by six,” she says.

  “Would you like to come over and watch a movie tonight? I mean, if you aren’t doing things with the team. Only if you have time or want to.” Could I sound a little more desperate right now?

  “I’d love to see you again. Let me bring dinner over since you cooked breakfast.” She smiles. I love her smile.

  “Only if you have time.” I look at the clock. She gets up and walks to me. She reaches for my hand. I think she is going to kiss me, but she pulls me up and holds me.

  “I can’t wait. I will see you at six and I’ll call if there’s a problem, okay?” She grabs her coat and heads out the door.

  The whole time I’m cleaning the kitchen, I have a cheesy, satisfied grin on my face. Last night was perfect. Stone had an amazing game that I got to see, and when she showed up, we both immediately knew what was going to happen. My bedroom still smells like sex. I know I should change the sheets, but I crawl into them again and decide that a quick nap before a shower could only make this day more perfect.

  Chapter Twenty-six

  I smile when the doorbell rings at five thirty. Stone is early. Thankfully, I’m dressed and ready for her. I open the door and find Alison instead.

  “Alison. What are you doing here?” My cheeks heat up and my fists clench.

  “I want to talk. Can I come in?”

  “Actually, no. I was just on my way out.” I just want her to leave. I don’t want my past and my present to cross paths.

  “Just for five minutes. I promise. I will leave in five minutes,” she says.

  I relent and let her in. “How did you find me?” I ask. I need to know whose ass to kick.

  “It doesn’t really matter,” she says. I can’t imagine Gloria telling her. Maybe Tina did. Alison sits on the couch. “Look, I’ve done a lot of thinking and I know I can change. I miss you. I miss us. Maybe we can try therapy or even start over. There has to be something I can say or do.” She looks miserable. I believe that she misses me, but it doesn’t change anything. If I thought we could do something to salvage our relationship, then I would have suggested it.

  “I’m sorry, but I just don’t think so. I miss you, but not us. This is something I had to do. I feel good about myself again. I hope you understand that. I’m not trying to hurt you, but I have to be honest.” At least now I can look at her while we talk. Last time, I couldn’t. She still looks sad, but she also looks determined.

  “I hate the thought that we’re going to walk away from one another. We get along so well. We like to do the same things, we have a lot in common, and we have the same friends.” She reaches out to me, but I pull back.

  “I don’t think we—” The doorbell
rings. I want to die. This cannot be happening. I answer the door because as much as I want to run away, I can’t.

  “Hi. Are you okay? You look really pale,” Stone says. I give her a nervous laugh before I step back and allow her to enter. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know you had company.”

  “Stone, this is Alison. Alison, this is Stone.” I say.

  “Hi. Oh, hey. You play for the Gray Wolves, right?” Alison asks. How does every single person know about hockey except for me?

  “Right. Hi. Nice to meet you,” Stone says. She quickly turns to me and says in a low voice, “Do you need me to leave?”

  “No, please stay. Alison was just leaving.” I sound heartless, but she came over unannounced and uninvited. Thankfully, Alison takes the hint and heads for the door.

  “Please call me. I’d like to continue this later. Nice to meet you, Stone.” She leaves and I can’t close the door fast enough.

  I turn to Stone. “I’m so sorry about that. I had no idea she was coming over. I have no idea how she found out where I’m living.” I’m trying not to be upset, but it’s so unsettling. I didn’t want her to know where I live for this very reason. She’s such a control freak and she came over just to rattle me. That’s what she does if she doesn’t get her way. She’s relentless and irritating as fuck. Stone reaches out and I lean into her for strength and warmth.

  “I’m sorry. I’m sure that wasn’t easy. Are you okay?” She’s so concerned about me and I feel like crying, but I know that if I do, Stone will take it the wrong way. I manage to keep it together and paste a smile on my face.

  “Yeah, I was just so excited for tonight and she put a damper on my mood.” Stone hugs me. I smile at the familiarity of her scent.

  “Let’s not let her ruin tonight, okay? It’s been such a good day.”

  “Oh! Did you win your game?” I completely forgot that her second game was today.

  “We did. I didn’t score, but I also didn’t get a lot of playing time. I wanted to rest my leg from last night’s game.” That concerns me.

  “Are you okay? Is your ankle tight?” I turn into a doctor immediately and make her sit on the couch. I order her to take off her shoes while I head to the kitchen for an ice pack. Her leg is propped on the couch when I return. “You know, all you have to do is ask if you want one of my massages.”

  She smiles at me. “Doc, I can’t wait for a massage, but the other kind. You know, the kind where you aren’t trying to rip my leg off. The kind where maybe massage oil is involved and other parts of my body are explored.” Bad mood gone.

  “Maybe we should eat first since the food is still hot.”

  She responds with a groan, but nods. She kisses me quickly and jumps up to get plates from the kitchen while I investigate the contents of the large brown bag.

  “Chicken pot pie from the restaurant next to my building. Very yummy and I promise you will love it. Any thoughts on a movie?”

  “What do you like to watch? Romance, thrillers, comedies, science fiction?” I ask.

  “Yes.”

  “No preference? Or are we going to have to watch something like Rudy or We Are Marshall or Miracle?”

  She laughs. “Why? Because I’m a dumb jock and I only watch tearjerker sports underdog movies? In all fairness, they’re pretty good choices, but I’ll watch anything really. It’s nice to just decompress in front of mindless television.”

  We scroll through the new releases on Netflix and settle on a science fiction about aliens versus humans. Stone’s eyes light up when we start it. Soon enough, she’ll find out that I agreed to the movie because it’s an excuse to sit close to her and have her hold me if I get scared. The movie starts and I make her put her ankle in my lap so I can give her a massage.

  My emotions are still all over the place. I wish Alison hadn’t put a damper on my spirit for tonight because I had something entirely different in mind. Stone’s ankle is swollen so I’m careful with it.

  “I’ve missed your touch, Doc.” She closes her eyes for a minute.

  “Remember when you hated this?”

  She cracks her eye open at me. “Oh, this is still painful, but I got used to it, so it’s welcome,” she says.

  I massage her for another twenty minutes, then gently place the ice bag on her ankle. “How’s your leg? I’ve been focusing so much on your ankle.” She pulls up her pant leg up to her knee. “I still think the surgeon did a great job on your stitches. You have minimal scarring and this’ll be a great conversation piece in the summer when you wear shorts.”

  “I have zero problems with my leg. You’d think that a break that required surgery would take longer to heal than a fractured ankle.”

  “All of your weight is on your ankle though. Plus, it twists and turns and we need to make sure it does all of that for the rest of your life.”

  “I know. I just want to whine a little bit,” she says. I try not to smile. Stone is one of the strong ones. When the movie ends, Stone leans forward and kisses me softly. “I’m going to go home, okay?”

  I nod. Tonight didn’t work out the way I wanted it to. I wanted to pick up from where we left off this morning, but Alison had to show up and ruin the night. “I’m sorry our night fizzled out.”

  She pulls me to her and holds me. She is warm and comforting so I circle her waist with my arms and lean into her. “It’s okay. Tonight was nice. I like spending time with you and just being us, you know?”

  I nod. “Thanks for understanding. Dinner was nice. Thank you for treating.” She kisses the end of my nose.

  “Get some sleep. I’ll talk to you tomorrow sometime.” I watch her get into her car and drive away. I frown and close the door. This day started on such a high note and ended with such a resounding thud.

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  “How was your weekend?” Gloria walks into my office and sits on the couch.

  “It was okay. Alison found me and stopped by last night,” I say.

  Her mouth drops open. I mentally mark Gloria off of the list. Not even Meryl Streep could pull off the look on her face right now. “You’re shitting me,” she says. I shake my head. “So what happened? I mean, if you feel like talking about it.” She sits back in the chair and looks at me like she couldn’t care less, but I know she’s dying to know.

  “There was a knock on my door and she was there. I don’t know how she found me and she wouldn’t reveal her source. We only talked for a few minutes. You can’t just show up unannounced at somebody’s house and expect them to be agreeable, especially given our circumstances.” I leave the part out about Stone showing up a few minutes later.

  “What did she say?”

  “She told me she missed me and is willing to try to change to make me happy. I told her no, but I don’t think I’ve heard the last of her.” I sit back in my chair and sigh. “I mean, I wouldn’t mind being friends with her, but I think we’re a long way from that.”

  “I get where she’s coming from. You were her rock. She’s missing her foundation. On the flip side, I haven’t seen you this content in a long time. You do look tired today, though,” she says.

  “It’s too bad my boss is here or else I’d curl up on my couch and take a little nap.”

  “Your boss sounds like such a bitch,” she says.

  I nod and am rewarded with a wadded up piece of paper that almost lands in my coffee. “She has her moments. Most of the time, she’s pretty okay though.”

  * * *

  What are you doing Thursday? I want to take you on a hayride at the orchard.

  Stone’s texts always make me smile.

  That sounds like fun. I’m in.

  Great. I’ll pick you up at six.

  I’m sure we’ll talk before then. I’m still upset about our night getting ruined. The sex was really good and I’m anxious to go back to that closeness with her. Stone makes me feel things I haven’t felt in a long time; treasured, important, desired. I’ve missed feeling wanted. I know Alison loved me, but I can�
��t remember feeling this excited about spending time with another person. Passion. It’s real and it’s been missing in my life.

  I keep the conversation going because I miss her. So we aren’t going to talk until then? My phone rings almost immediately. I answer it. “You didn’t have to call me. I was just playing.” The background sounds loud so I know she’s at a rink.

  “How are you?” Her voice soothes me.

  “A little tired because I stayed up too late reading, but good. Are you skating today?”

  “I had PT this morning, so I’m getting ready to hit the ice. My ankle feels good and my leg feels good. This might be the week everything clicks into place for me.” During one of our first sessions, I told her that some athletes know the exact moment when they are one hundred percent. I’ve heard this more than once. I think just hearing that really helped Stone push herself to heal.

  “That’s fantastic. Maybe your coach will let you start?” I’m hopeful. She did have a good game on Saturday and thought she did well yesterday, too.

  “I hope so. Our practices will be tough, but I’ll show her that I can get back out there. I know all of our plays already. I just need to be able to execute them. We have two new players and I don’t know how we mesh yet.”

  “The kindergartners?” I laugh at her growl.

  “They’re young and really fast. I’m going to have to push myself hard just to keep up with them. Thank God I’m the tallest on the team. That gives me a bigger reach.” I shiver recalling how tall and how strong Stone is. She picked me up in my hallway and carried me to the bed in only a few steps. I need another night like that. Several, in fact. “Will I get to see you before Thursday?” she asks.