by Eva Luxe
It was ridiculous. How would a long-distance relationship work? I wasn’t sure I would be able to do it, not because I couldn’t be loyal but because it would be impossible for me to carry on without her, knowing she was mine but I couldn’t touch her. I was falling for the girl, and I had no idea how to make it work.
When I thought about falling for her, warmth rushed through me. It was nothing like what I had felt before. Before, I hadn’t wanted to get to know them any more than a casual fuck. Before, I hadn’t wanted anything to do with them.
Now I wanted her to be a part of every aspect of my life. It was a first for me, but I liked it. I had always been focused on myself, on what I wanted and what I was going to get. With Hailey, everything had changed. I wanted to do things with her and for her now. I wanted her to be a part of my life and share everything I had with her.
It hit me, suddenly. I was in love with Hailey.
On Friday, I headed out to Brad and Carly’s. I hadn’t arranged anything with Hailey, but I had to see her. I needed to talk to her. When I knocked on the door and Carly opened, she looked surprised.
“Nick,” she said. “I didn’t know you were coming over.”
“I know. I didn’t phone ahead,” I said. “But I’d love to talk to Hailey if she’s around.”
Carly nodded and invited me in to wait in the living room while she disappeared into the house to find Hailey. A short while later, Hailey arrived. She smiled when she saw me, but she looked tired.
“I want to take you out,” I said. “Do you want to grab something to eat?”
Hailey nodded. We walked to my car, and I drove her to a bistro nearby. When we were seated, Hailey ordered a toasted sandwich. I ordered a salad, and the moment the food arrived I dug in. When I noticed Hailey’s food, I realized she had barely touched it.
“What’s wrong?” I asked. “You’re not eating.”
Hailey shook her head. “I’m not really hungry.”
I frowned. “Are you okay?”
Hailey nodded quickly. “I’m fine. I guess I’m nervous about the flight home. I’m not a big fan of flying.”
I nodded. I wasn’t sure if she was telling me the full truth, but she would tell me what was going on when she was ready. I hoped it wasn’t because she was still not all right about what had happened between us.
“You’ll talk to me if there’s still something you want to talk about, right?” I asked her.
Hailey nodded. “Nick,” she said. “It was very kind of you to take me out, but I’m not really feeling very well. Is it all right if we go back to your place?”
I nodded and asked for the check. I wasn’t sure what was up with Hailey, but if she felt uncomfortable and needed me to be her hero, I would be.
We drove to my place in silence, and I wondered what was bothering her. I wasn’t sure if saying to her how I felt would make things worse, but I had to get it off my chest. I had to tell her how I felt. I had never felt like this about someone before.
I hoped she would be able to open up to me once I told her how I felt.
We arrived at my place, and I led her through the front door. I liked having her in my place. She fit in well here. It was a place that could use a woman’s touch, and I wanted it to be Hailey’s touch. I wanted her in my life, to have her share in everything and be my woman.
When Hailey sat on my couch in my living room and I sat next to her, I took her hands. I looked her in the eyes. Her eyes were a deep green, darker than usual. I still wasn’t sure what it was about her that was different, but she seemed more reserved like something was bothering her. I was trying my best to fix things. Was something else wrong?
“I know we’ve been through a rocky patch. I know a lot has happened between us, but I haven’t ever felt this way about anyone, and I want you to know that. When things went south, my logic was to walk away. I was wrong, not only about the situation but about thinking walking away would be possible. I’ve fallen for you, Hailey. Since the moment I ran into you at Brad and Carly’s house, everything changed.”
“Everything changed for me too,” Hailey said.
I let go of her hand and brushed the back of my fingers down her cheek.
“I’m in love with you. It’s taken me a while to realize it, so long that I nearly lost you. But there it is. I love you.”
I paused, scanning her face for a reaction. I was putting myself out there. I had always been a confident guy, arrogant enough to know that everyone would fall for me. What I hadn’t counted on was that one day, I would feel the same. Putting myself out there, admitting how I felt, was a weakness I didn’t like. There was a reason I always slept around instead of getting attached. Even though the women weren’t worth my time anyway, as long as I was the one to push them away first, I stayed safe.
Today, I put myself out there. I was willing to let Hailey know how much I cared for her even if she didn’t feel the same. The vulnerability was uncharted territory for me.
“What about everything that happened with us, about me being the same person I was before?” Hailey asked.
I shook my head. “Don’t,” I said. “All of that’s in the past, and we can leave it there. The thing is, you might be the same person you were then, but I’m not the same person I was. I was a jerk, and I don’t want to be anymore.”
Hailey nodded, and she looked emotional. Her eyes shimmered as if she was going to cry, but there wasn’t a single tear in sight. Her strength was one of the things I admired.
I had told her how I felt about her, taking that leap of faith, but I still had something to get off my chest.
“I know we haven’t known each other for very long,” I said. “But even though we had our ups and downs and it’s only been a few short weeks since Brad and Carly dinner party, I don’t want you to go back to Colorado.”
“What are you saying?” Hailey asked. Right. I had to be more specific. I liked that she was pushing me to do more, be more. I had to be precise and to the point.
“I’m asking you to stay in Miami with me. We can work out the logistics, but I don’t want you to go. I can’t bear the thought of losing you.”
Hailey’s eyes filled with tears, and it made the green of her irises that much brighter.
“Hey, don’t cry,” I said, brushing her cheek even though the tears hadn’t spilled onto them yet.
“I already filled out the online papers,” Hailey said.
I blinked at her. “The what?”
“The papers to transfer my MBA studies online. Like Carly did.”
Like Carly had done when she had moved to Miami for Brad. I realized what Hailey was saying to me. I was asking her to stay for me now. But she had already answered me when she’d filled out the papers.
I leaned forward, grabbed her face, and kissed her. I couldn’t help myself. I kissed her hard, pouring everything I felt into that kiss. Everything was going to work out. In a short time, she had become my everything. In an even shorter time, I had nearly lost her, but she had found her way back to me. It had all happened overwhelmingly fast, but she was here to stay, here to be with me. It was all that mattered.
Come what may, we could figure it out.
Hailey wrapped her arms around my neck, and I pulled her closer to me. She pressed her body against mine, and our kiss turned hot and heavy instantly. My cock hardened in my pants, and I wanted her, but not to fuck.
To make love.
I broke the kiss and took her hands, pulling her up with me. She had made me the happiest man alive. I interlaced my fingers with hers, and together, we walked to my bedroom. When we were in the room, I kissed her again, gentler this time. I stroked her cheeks and ran my fingers through her hair. I planted kisses all over her face. Her soft skin under my lips felt like heaven. During the time we’d been apart, I’d craved her and missed her, and I could finally satiate myself again.
I should have known long before this how I felt about her. But I was an idiot. I had been an idiot for a long time.
“It hasn’t been a long time at all,” she said. “How do you know you love me?”
“Because when I lost you, I realized I didn’t know who I was anymore. You brought a side out in me that I like, and you made me a person worth knowing. But most of all, when you’re not with me, even football feels empty.”
Hailey smiled.
“Just for the record,” she said. “I love you too.”
Chapter 19
Hailey
Everything was all right again. I couldn’t believe it. For the past week, everything had seemed horrible, and I was sure it had been the end of whatever there could have been between Nick and me. And now? He wanted me in his life. He was asking me to stay. I wanted to stay with him. For the first time, I truly understood why Carly had wanted to stay in Miami. I had told her before that I understood because I would always support her as my friend, but now I knew exactly how she felt.
Nick kissed me again and every thought slipped out of my mind until it was filled with only him and who he was to me. Nick may have treated me badly, but he’d been amazing in so many ways, and he had apologized and changed it. Finding the perfect guy didn’t mean finding someone who never made a mistake. That was impossible. It meant finding a guy who would fix it when there was a mistake, a guy who would fight for me, not with me.
And right now, Nick looked a lot like the perfect guy to me.
He pushed me up against the wall, pinning me with his body, and I melted. I loved it when he dominated me like this, taking charge. He was in control, but he did it with respect, and I never felt like I couldn’t ask him to stop. Control like that was so attractive.
Nick’s hand was on my jaw, the other massaging my breast, and he ground his hard cock against my crotch. I moaned when he moved his lips to my neck and nibbled the skin, giving me goosebumps.
His hand slid down to my hip, and he stroked me with his thumb. With his hand so close to my stomach, I suddenly remembered about the baby, and I ran cold. I was pregnant, and Nick didn’t know. Was I going to lose him again if I told him this? I was almost scared to find out.
But if my identity had been the wrong secret to keep before, a baby was that much worse. I wouldn’t have been able to hide it forever.
“Nick,” I said.
“Hmm?” Nick mumbled, nibbling my earlobe, and it was hard to concentrate. But I couldn’t let him distract me.
“Stop,” I said with a giggle.
Nick lifted his head, his eyes glazed, and I could see the hunger on his face. God, it got me when he looked at me like that. Every. Time.
“I need to talk to you,” I said, pushing through. I had to do this.
“We can talk afterward,” he said and came in for another kiss, but I pressed my fingers lightly against his lips and shook my head.
Nick frowned. “Is everything okay?” he asked.
I took a deep breath. “Will you promise not to get upset when I tell you? Because last time, it didn’t end very well.”
Nick took my hands and led me to the bed. We sat down together.
“I messed up once. I nearly lost you and learned my lesson. I won’t do that to you ever again.”
It wasn’t exactly a promise that he wouldn’t get upset, but I didn’t want to harp on it. I looked at our hands, mine still holding his, and I was so nervous, I felt sick to my stomach.
“I’m pregnant,” I said. Best to throw it right out there.
I glanced up at Nick when he didn’t respond immediately. He looked a little shocked.
“Are you sure?” he asked.
I nodded. The positive line on that pregnancy test had been too solid to be a mistake.
“I’m not sure how I could be with all the protection we used, but I’m sure.”
I pursed my lips, waiting for him to react, not knowing what to expect.
“I knew something was up,” he said. “You were so distant.”
I nodded. “After everything that already happened, I wasn’t sure what you were going to say.”
I had been terrified, if I had to be honest about it.
“I’m sorry,” I said.
Nick shook his head. “No, don’t be. This isn’t your fault. I know what it might be, actually.”
“You do?”
Nick nodded. “That first night, the condom had a small tear in it. It was in my wallet, and that’s a risk. I thought we’d be fine because you’re on the pill too.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked.
“I didn’t want to ruin your first time.”
It was a fair reason. And he was right, it shouldn’t have happened anyway. But it had happened. I was pregnant.
Nick took my hands and kissed them one after the other.
“We’ll figure this out,” he said. “We’ll make it work.”
I was surprised. “You’re not upset?”
Nick shook his head. “It’s not planned, sure. But I’m a family man. And I feel more for you than you know. I want to do this with you.”
I couldn’t believe it. I had thought he would be mad. I had anticipated some kind of bad response, even if he’d said it wouldn’t be like the last time. I hadn’t dreamed he would be happy about it. I didn’t even know how I felt about it. I had panicked about how he would react so much, the whole thing had been a nightmare until a few seconds ago.
“So, now you have to stay, eh?” Nick said. “That’s good news for me.”
He winked at me, and I laughed. I hadn’t thought for a second, we would be joking and laughing as soon as I told him.
“So, you’re really okay with this?” I asked.
Nick nodded. “Really.”
I smiled, and Nick leaned in to kiss me again. He took my chin between his thumb and forefinger, and I felt delicate. He kissed me, his tongue slipping into my mouth, and I reached for his shirt, working it up his body and over his head. When he was shirtless, I ran my hands over his muscular body, feeling the individual muscle groups. He was so hot.
Nick returned the favor and pulled my shirt over my head. He traced the cups with one finger before pushing one of the straps over my shoulder. While kissing me, he pulled the cup down, exposing my breast. His fingers found my nipple, already hard, and he rolled it between his fingers and tugged it, making me gasp into his mouth. It was a direct line to my pussy, turning me on more than I already was, making me so hot for him.
I reached behind my back and unclasped the bra, pulling it off. With both breasts exposed, Nick worked his way from one nipple to the other, squeezing, tugging, licking, sucking, until I cried out. Nick guided me so I lay down on the bed and undid my pants, pulling them down my legs, taking my panties with it. He ran his hands up my legs again, and I was so glad I’d shaved them earlier.
When he reached the apex of my thighs, my legs fell open for him, my pussy exposed. Nick breathed in as if he was breathing my scent, and when he looked at me again, his eyes were drowning me.
Nick ran his fingers down my slit, and I whimpered.
“You’re so wet.”
“All for you,” I said.
He smiled and pushed two fingers into me, pumping them slowly in and out, driving me wild with desire.
After a while, he let me go, and I moaned my protest. Nick pushed up and pulled his pants down, wriggling out of them.
“I guess we don’t have to worry about protection now,” he said, and he was right. Nick crawled over me, his body towering over mine. He pressed himself against my entrance, and I held my breath in anticipation.
“Is this okay?” he asked before he pushed into me.
I nodded. “It’ll be fine.”
“How do you feel?”
I groaned in frustration.
“I’m fine, Nick. Just fuck me already.”
Nick chuckled and didn’t wait for any further instruction.
When he pushed into me, I moaned, and I realized what they’d meant when they’d said it was bet
ter without a condom. When he pushed into me, it was pure ecstasy, better than I had experienced with Nick before, and even though I had no one to compare him to, I was pretty damn sure he was fucking good in bed. Nick moved in and out of me, slowly at first, teasing me the way I’d realized he liked to do. He picked up his pace, moving faster and faster, and the friction drove me mad. He fucked me harder and harder until an orgasm bloomed at my core, and I cried out, falling apart beneath him.
Nick paused, taking a breather. He pulled out of me and sat up. I crawled around him and climbed onto him, facing his feet. I sat down on him. I had always wanted to try this position. It felt so different from this angle, and I moved around, getting comfortable with his size.
When I was ready, I started rocking back and forth, riding him reverse cowboy style, my ass on his hips. I rocked harder and harder, and Nick put his hands on my ass as I rode him. He grunted and groaned, and I moaned, pushing my hand between my legs and rubbed my clit.
I rubbed myself faster and faster as I rode him, and an orgasm shattered me at the same time Nick cried out, and I felt him pumping, releasing inside me this time instead of into a condom. I felt him pumping and spasming in a way that I hadn’t felt before, and the sensation drew out my orgasm, making it more intense.
When it was over, I lifted myself of Nick and collapsed on the bed next to him, breathing hard. He turned his head to me and smiled.
“You’re fantastic,” he said.
I loved that he told me that. I didn’t have a lot of experience when it came down to sex, and he liked it anyway.
Nick rolled onto his side, his face close to mine.
“I’m glad you’re staying,” he said.
“Me too,” I confessed. I hadn’t been sure about it before, but I knew exactly what I wanted now. Like Carly, I was willing to leave my life behind for the man I loved.
“I was thinking,” Nick carried on. “You should move in.”
I turned my head to him, surprised. “Really? Isn’t it a bit soon?”
He shrugged. “You’re going to need a place to stay, and I’m not going to live anywhere other than with you once the baby comes. So, we might as well do it now. What do you say?”