The Athlete

by Elin Peer

  “Why?”

  “Because I was in control.”

  “Oh, really?” With a playful laugh, I rolled on top of her naked back, hooked my arms under her armpits, and folded my hands behind her neck. “How about now?”

  Emanuela tried lifting her head, but I had her pinned down with my weight. “This is called a full nelson in wrestling and right now, I’m in complete control. Try shaking me off you.”

  She wriggled and bucked her body but there wasn’t much she could do.

  “If you like being in control so much, how are you going to feel when I take you like this?”

  Emanuela’s breathing was strained from her attempt to get me off her, but she turned her head to one side as if waiting to see what I’d do.

  “You didn’t think a true Nman would let you be in control for long, did you?”

  “Can’t we be equal?”

  In a low husky tone, I whispered into her ear, “I let you be on top last night, now I’m on top. That’s equality. Now weave your fingers together.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I told you to.”

  I was a bit surprised when she complied but quickly pushed down my boxers and kicked them off. Sliding my arm back in place to secure her position, I rolled my hips and let my cock slide against her behind. “Spread your legs for me, babe.”

  “Why?”

  I grinned low in her ear. “Because you’ve got a massive Nman on top of you ready to fuck you, that’s why.”

  “You’re heavy.”

  “And large too, but yesterday you proved that you’re strong enough to take it, so spread those legs.”

  She moved her legs very slowly so I speeded things along by pushing her knees apart with my legs.

  Emanuela gave a small moan when my cock slid between her folds, touching her clit in small rhythmic movements.

  “Are you ready?”

  She gave a nod before I penetrated her. Her pussy was as tight and warm as yesterday, and I knew there would never be a drug in the world stronger than the high I felt when I was inside her.

  Because her face was resting on her chin, I could see her close her eyes and exhale in little sweet moans.

  “Admit that you like being pinned down and taken by me?”

  Her lack of protest told me that she did, and it made me intensify the pressure and pace.

  “I’m sore from yesterday.”

  Lifting her up, I placed a pillow under her belly. It gave me a much better angle to take her and when she stayed down with her cheek to the mattress and her arms relaxed in front of her, I knew I had all the control I wanted. Pulling back, I got to my knees and pressed my hand against her spine to signal for her to stay down.

  “Do you like it?” I repeated and this time she made a moan that sounded like “Uh-huh.”

  “Tell me that you like it,” I ordered. “You like me being in control of you, don’t you?”

  “As long as it’s not outside of the bedr…”

  I cut her off, leaning over her and pressing my hand into her hair and pushing on the back of her head. “Do you like me being rough with you, at this moment?”

  “Yes,” she breathed. “I don’t know why, but I do.”

  Internally, I raised my hand and jerked it down in victory. Externally, I gave a low growl of satisfaction and tightened my fist with her hair in it. “Good girl.”

  Normally Emanuela would have been provoked by a comment like that but with my intensified pace of rocking in and out of her, she was too busy being fucked by me.

  I kept at it, my three orgasms from yesterday making me able to last and stay in control.

  “That feels good,” she moaned and pushed her delicious ass against my every thrust.

  I had my eyes closed, focusing on the divine feeling of being connected to the woman I loved and wanting it to last forever. Emanuela screamed out her orgasm and it made pride spike through me like a hallucinogenic drug, showing me images of her and me raising our future kids together. I switched from driving in and out to rotating my hips, going from small shallow thrusts to deep hard ones, and whatever spot I was hitting inside her, it drove her into a series of multi-orgasms leaving her panting underneath me. We had made love yesterday and at the club, but this was by far the most excellent I’d ever been in my lovemaking. I felt like a champion for leaving my woman sated with glassy eyes, red cheeks, and tangled hair from all the times I’d yanked at it.

  When my ball sack tightened and I was ready to come myself, I opened my eyes and saw the sperm-killing gel on the night table. We’d used it last night, but I doubted it would last that many hours.

  I wanted nothing more than to pump her full of my sperm but even in my horny state of mind, my respect and love for Emanuela was strong enough for me to pull out and come on her ass.

  We lay panting with me on top of her and Emanuela with her arms out flat. My warm semen between us was running to one side, dripping down on the sheets.

  “We forgot to use the spray,” I admitted and drew in a gulp of air to steady my breath. “But at least I didn’t come inside you.”

  “Then we should be fine, right?” Her voice was strained with my weight on top of her so I rolled to my side.

  “Yeah, I think so.”

  Emanuela turned to look at me with a warm smile. “If I’d known sex was this good, I would have had it years ago.”

  I propped myself on my elbow and pulled her close to me. “It’s not. Only sex with me will feel this good.”

  “I came three times. Did you notice?”

  “Fuck yeah, I noticed. I’m pretty sure when I stand up I’ll have grown at least an inch.”

  Her small frown of confusion made me add, “Because of pride.”

  “Oh.”

  “I love that I can give you multiple orgasms. I’ve read about those and always wondered if it was true.”

  “It felt very true.”

  “So, does that mean you’ve forgiven me for yesterday?”

  Emanuela’s smile was in her eyes when she pulled me down to kiss her. “You’re forgiven. With the way I feel right now, I’m ready to do anything to be with you forever. Sex with you is by far the most amazing thing I’ve ever experienced.”

  My eyes widened. “Forever?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Does that mean…?”

  Her smile grew. “It’s crazy, I know, but I’m in love with you.”

  The question of marriage burned on my tongue. “I’m not going to ask you while you’re high on sex. You might not mean it when you calm down a little.” My Adam’s apple bobbed in my throat as I swallowed hard. “Tomorrow – I’ll ask you tomorrow, and I’ll tell you right now: it’s going to be the longest day in my life.”

  We lay for a long moment, just smiling at each other.

  “I’ve never met anyone who makes me feel the way you do, Hunter.”

  My chest felt like it was bursting with gratitude and euphoria. I had found the treasure I’d been searching for since I was twelve. Emanuela and I had proven that we could fight and make up just like Kya and Archer. This was real love. “I’ve never met anyone who makes me feel the way you do either.”

  “Not even that woman who broke your heart?”

  I blinked away the moisture in my eyes. “I used to think that I loved her, but not after I met you. Now I know how big a difference there is between like and love.”

  Emanuela smiled at me. “Do you remember that moment at your sister’s wedding ceremony when we stared into each other’s eyes?”

  “Yes.”

  “That was the first time the idea popped into my mind. After seeing all the couples there, the idea of love and marriage wasn’t so scary any longer.”

  “You mean that?”

  “Yes. I have many people whom I love but with you it’s a different kind of love. I’ve never felt this way about anyone else.”

  I sat up and stared at her. “Did you just tell me that you love me?”

  Emanuela sat
up too. “Of course I love you.”

  “No, I’m serious, Ema. Don’t say you love me if you mean it in the sense that all you Motlanders love everyone or the way you love your brothers. Only say it if you love me as your man.”

  She lifted a hand to my cheek. “Would I have made love to you if I didn’t love you?”

  I frowned. “Uhm, yeah, people do it in sex clubs here all the time. It has happened to me before and I’m not going to be your fun experiment.”

  Emanuela got out of the bed.

  “Where are you going? We’re in the middle of an important conversation here.”

  “I know, but you pounded against my bladder for the last forty minutes and I will pee in the bed if I don’t use the bathroom.”

  I waited for her to come back and when she did, I marveled at her standing naked in the doorway.

  “If I invite you to shower with me, will you promise not to initiate sex? It hurt peeing and I can’t take anymore right now.” She pointed to her neck. “Look at my skin. It’s all red from your stubble.”

  “Fine. I won’t touch you.” I held up my hands with an innocent smile.

  “I didn’t say you couldn’t touch me. I like hugs.”

  “Me too.” Getting up from the bed, I walked over and hugged her, but my hands landed on the sticky part of her lower back and I had to laugh a little. “Yeah, we definitely need to shower.”

  CHAPTER 28

  Publicity

  Emanuela

  For our fourth game we had to fly east to the Blue district and meet our long-time rivals, the Hummingbirds.

  Their supporters were famous for coming to every game and singing songs of their team’s speed, elegance, and superiority. Amy and Donna gathered us for a pep talk before the game.

  “They’ll have thousands of people cheering for them and our supporters will be overpowered by their singing,” Amy emphasized. “Remember not to let it get under your skin. It’s hard to feel them cheering for the others and not for us, but that’s how it is when we play away games.”

  It was a speech she gave every time we were away but I let her repeat herself.

  Donna stepped forward. “Also, remember some of the mental tricks that I’ve taught you about withstanding pressure?” She counted on her fingers. “If you feel it affect your game, refocus by doing one of the quick breathing exercises we’ve practiced, and always cheer for each other. We are not here for the Hummingbird fans to like us. We’re here for the Dolphin fans to love us.”

  “We’ve got this,” I said in support and looked over to Vicki. “Don’t take it personally when you miss a goal and they cheer.”

  “It wasn’t that they were cheering in that last game. It was that some of them were laughing at me.”

  “It’s just because they were happy you didn’t score a goal against their team.”

  Vicki sighed. “Sure felt personal, though.”

  Hunter groaned and rubbed his face. “Geez, you people need to grow thicker skin. In the Northlands the opposing team’s fans scream profanities and boo at us when we play. It’s not uncommon that they throw things at us players when they get mad, and several times players in my league have been beaten up after a game because they either made too many goals or too few.”

  We were all staring at him. “That’s horrible,” Amy exclaimed but Hunter just shrugged.

  “Soccer fans get passionate about the game. Every professional athlete has to know how to deal with hecklers.”

  “What’s a heckler?”

  “An idiot who shouts threats and insults at you when you try to play your best game. Most times in the Northlands it’s because the fans are drunk.”

  Jeremy whistled. “Wow. I’m happy our fans aren’t like that.”

  Sara spoke up. “I once had a young man shout a very unpleasant thing at me. I’ll never forget it. He looked straight at me and shouted that I was a slow cow.”

  “He didn’t?” Vicki held a hand to her mouth.

  Sara nodded. “Yes. Right to my face.”

  “That’s so rude.” Looks were exchanged and heads were shaking.

  “I hope he got reported for improper communication, because that’s really unnecessary and hurtful.”

  “As long as he didn’t physically throw anything at you, who cares what he thinks?” Hunter stood up. “Sorry, but you can’t allow others to get under your skin. It’s just that simple.”

  “That’s easy for you to say but how do you not get sad when people are cheering for the opposing team?”

  “Okay, you wanna know what my secret is?”

  “Yes.”

  “One of my earliest mentors was a real ass who always shouted at us kids.”

  Emanuela leaned in. “He means teachers. Mentors are teachers.”

  “Yeah. Anyway, when I practice I intentionally give him room in my head. If I can perform with him beating me up then it’s easier to transfer that mindset to the field. If there are some nasty hecklers, I never show them that I’m affected. I keep cool and act like I don’t care, and over the years I’m proud to say that now I’m at a point where for the most part I really don’t care. The hecklers are losers who wish they had what we have. They see money and fame and get mean about it. One time my teammate Johnson got so pissed that he jumped the fence to the fans and started beating on a heckler, but that’s just stupid because then the whole game got interrupted and Johnson messed up his hands. It’s better to just mentally block them out and stay focused on the game.”

  We all looked at Hunter in silence, some gaping, others frowning. Amy shifted her balance and wrung her hands. “All right. That was, ehm… eye-opening, and I think we got a bit of perspective, didn’t we?” She cleared her throat and turned to Donna. “Do you have more you want to contribute?”

  “No, no… I’m good. Just play strong today and win the game, please.”

  When we were about to leave the meeting, Amy reminded me and Hunter that we were doing post-game interviews. “And try to be eloquent this time, will you?”

  “I’m always fucking eloquent.” Hunter winked at our coach and was just about to leave the room when I saw Donna move in on him.

  “Hunter, can I talk to you for a second?”

  He stiffened a little but nodded his head. “What is it?”

  She pulled him aside and lowered her voice so I couldn’t hear her and it annoyed me, but at least Hunter looked guarded and stood with his head lowered, avoiding eye contact with her.

  I waited for him just outside the room and when he walked out a minute later, I had to ask, “What did Donna want to talk to you about?”

  “Nothing.”

  I sped up, my chest suddenly feeling a size too small but I only made it ten steps before Hunter stopped me. “Wait, what’s the matter?”

  My mouth remained shut until two people had passed us and we were alone in the hallway. “I can’t stand that woman and you know it. And now you have secrets with her?”

  He jerked back. “I said it was nothing because she means nothing to me and everything she said went in one ear and out the other.”

  “Did she offer to sleep with you again?”

  “No. She warned me against having an internal bully. According to her it’s very unhealthy and she would advise against it.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “The thing I told you all about having my old mentor in my head as my private heckling trainer.”

  I lifted my chin in a nod. “Yeah.”

  “That’s what she wanted to talk to me about.”

  “Did she ask anything about us?”

  “Like what?”

  “Like your feelings for me?”

  Hunter’s face melted in a warm smile. “You are so cute when you get jealous.”

  “I’m not jealous.”

  “Yes, you are. But we can call it possessive or protective if you prefer.”

  A smile flirted with my upper lip. “You wish.”

  Hunter grinned behind me
as I walked on. “One hundred percent.”

  The game against the Hummingbirds was my best game in years. Feeling in the zone, I tried out new tricks in my solo that had the whole stadium losing their minds. Hunter impressed everyone and was faster and sharper than I’d ever seen him before. He made four goals but one was taken away from us because of his lack of sportsmanship when he gave an exaggerated victory dance after his last goal. Still we won seven to two, which counted as our greatest victory over the Hummingbirds in our team’s history.

  After the game Hunter and I were meeting fans. As the captain, I’d always been the team’s most popular player, but Hunter seemed to attract a different kind of fan group. I doubted they were true soccer fans since they weren’t wearing soccer shirts. Most had t-shirts with his face and name on them.

  The women were literally clinging to him and when one of them shouted, “You can hunt me, Hunter,” others laughed.

  I tried smiling and focusing on my own fans but my eyes kept going right to see what Hunter was doing.

  “Excuse me, I think my captain needs me.” It only took a few seconds before I felt him by my side. “You okay?”

  “Yes, I’m fine.”

  The fans were ecstatic to have pictures with both of us, and ten minutes later we walked into the press room to be interviewed with Amy.

  “That was an impressive game today, Coach.”

  Amy was glowing when she talked about strategies, team dynamics, and the importance of sports psychology.

  But then the questions shifted to me and Hunter and became more private in nature.

  “In the beginning of the season you two seemed to have a bit of trouble getting along. How is that going?”

  I smiled at Hunter, who crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair with a smug smile. “It’s going well, thank you. I have nothing but praise for the captain.”

  “Emanuela, how do you feel about Hunter now? You accused him of being unrefined and unsophisticated; would you say he has improved?”

  “Yes. Very much. And the thing about Hunter is that his style grows on you after a while.” We exchanged another smile.

  “We’ve heard rumors that Hunter brought you to the Northlands for his sister’s wedding.”