Hail Mary (18 page)

“I hate to be a buzz kill here, stud, but I can’t spend the night.” She attempted to cushion the regret in her voice by tracing his eyebrows and his nose with her lips.

“What?” His distress was evident in his voice. For a man who hadn’t spent a full night with any woman for the last five years and who had no friends to speak of, the idea of Mary leaving tonight was…unthinkable.

“I’ve got Max at home. I can’t leave him by himself at night. I’m sorry. I can make it up to you before I have to go,” she promised.

“I’m going to hold you to that, woman.” Then he rolled her over and delivered on his promise.

~ * ~ * ~

Mary didn’t think there’d ever been a time in her life where she was more relaxed. Evidently this was what a night full of multiple orgasms did for you. She felt utterly blissed out and mellow, even though the last round had left her a little sore, the results of not having sex for a long, long time. Michael was a big man and while her body had stretched as much as it could to accommodate him, it was going to take a few more times before her body was completely used to him.

She couldn’t wait.

He sat up and turned on the light and watched her movements while she’d dressed herself before leaving. Once she was dressed, Michael levered himself off the bed, threw on some black sweat pants and walked her to the door, as though he was as reluctant for their evening to end as she was.

As she zipped up her fleece, Michael pulled the ends together under her chin and looked into her eyes. “Promise you’ll call when you get home? I want to make sure you’re home safe.”

Mary smiled. It was nice to have someone worried about her safety. She wasn’t sure what that said about her independence, but at the moment, she didn’t care.

“Promise. I’ll call after I’ve let Max out for the night.”

“Ok.” He kissed her and walked her to the station wagon, opening her door and closing it, standing in the driveway until she pulled out and away. Wasn’t that lovely? She’d never thought she was one of those women who wanted a man to look after her. Worry about her. Make sure she made it home safely. But when the concern emanated from big, bad Michael Santiago? It was flattering.

Max was waiting for her at the door as soon as he heard the jingle of her car keys through the door. He immediately burrowed his head into her legs to let her know how much he’d missed her while she was gone. She stroked his head and his ears, put her purse up on the counter, grabbed his leash and took him outside before they settled in for the night.

After she’d locked the doors, turned off the lights, and settled in, she called Michael. It felt…sexy to call him when she was in bed, in her pajamas, still thinking about him, still feeling him.

“Are you okay?” he barked as soon as the call went through. Her warm fuzzies immediately evaporated at his tone.

“Excuse me?”

“Where the fuck have you been? You left here twenty minutes ago and you’re only now calling?”

The feminist in Mary was dying to unload on Michael. Hang up on this macho bullshit he was pulling which was in danger of spoiling what had been one of the greatest nights of her life.

“I’m only going to stay on this phone long enough to tell you one thing and you better listen well. Otherwise this will be the last conversation we ever have.”

If Mary could see him, she was certain he was clenching his jaw as tight as possible, a tick off to the side, but he remained quiet.

“I’m going to assume you were worried about me and your worry was responsible for the way you answered the phone. But make no mistake. You don’t talk to me like that. Ever. I didn’t deserve you attacking for no reason. I deserve more respect.”

Mary waited while the silence crackled. There should have been crickets chirping in the background for all the response from Michael.

Was it going to end like this? Over the phone? In spite of everything they had shared? If so, so be it. She had the sense Michael, if he wanted to and it seemed as though he wanted to, could certainly be overbearing. That kind of attitude needed to be nipped in the bud.

Finally, there was a long sigh from the other end of the line. Okay, he was still on the phone in spite of what she’d said.

“I’m sorry. I…I expected you to call sooner and when you didn’t, I conjured you up on the side of Twenty-Third, dead. I guess I sort of overreacted.”

Mary smiled to herself and settled herself even further back against her thick pillows. Okay. Her man could do the whole apology thing when she called him on his bad behavior. Good to know. Was he her man? She sure hoped so. He’d certainly played the part of her man tonight when he’d been moving inside of her, on top of her, kissing her, caressing her, and teasing her.

“Apology accepted.”

There was another long exhale on Michael’s end of the phone.

“Is Max okay?”

“Sure is. He’s laying on his bed next to the door right now as we speak.”

“Good. That’s good.”

Mary sensed he wasn’t any more anxious to end this conversation than she was. In spite of what had transpired earlier, this too, was surprisingly intimate. Or maybe this was her projecting since she was lying in her bed, thinking about Michael in his, remembering the two of them in his only an hour ago and wishing he was there with her now. She hadn’t invited him over because she’d been worried about appearing too needy, too clingy…too desirous of his time and attention.

“What are you doing?”

“Talking to you.”

“Smart ass.” Mary’s gentle tone conveyed her amusement.

“No. I’m lying here waiting to go to sleep after we get off the phone.”

“What time’s your game again?”

“One o’clock.”

“What time do you have to be at the field?”

“Around eleven.”

“I need to let you go then since it’s three a.m.”

“It’s okay. I’m a light sleeper. I don’t need much. You gonna watch me tomorrow? I think Fox is broadcasting the game,” he said.

“You want me to?”

“Yes.”

“Then yes, I absolutely will.”

Chapter 12

Mary felt as though she were floating on a cloud. A cloud composed of hormones and happiness. Since Saturday night, few hours had passed without her talking to Michael, texting him, or being with him. When she woke up Sunday morning, her first thoughts had been of him. She wondered where he was and what he was doing. If he’d thought about her when he woke up the way her thoughts had immediately settled on him. It was after ten so she assumed he was either at the field or on his way to prepare for the game.

She was thinking of him and wanted him to know it. Mary knew many of the traditional man-hunting guides and women’s magazines advised playing it cool early on. But she’d played it cool and sophisticated for years and she was still single. Michael hadn’t seemed to mind it when she was direct with him and called him on his bullshit, so maybe he wouldn’t mind if she told him he was on her mind. Calling him could be too distracting and too time consuming depending on what he was doing. He took his games seriously and she didn’t want him to think she disregarded his career. Therefore, she decided a text was the perfect way to communicate.

Good morning. I’m thinking of you and hoping you have a great game. Good luck!!!

Ten minutes later, her phone chimed, letting her know he’d responded.

Thanks. Me too.

Me too, what? Me, too, he was thinking about her? She hoped that’s what it was.

A couple of minutes later, he clarified his prior text.
I’m thinking of you too. Sorry. Bad w/texting.

She’d sent him a smiley face back and didn’t hear from him until after the game when he’d called.

“Hello?”

“Hey.”

Hearing his voice made Mary smile, inside and out.

“Nice game.” The Tide had easily handled their opponents. Michael alone had two sacks and two hurries.

“You watched it?”

“Of course.”

“Nice.”

“It looked like your hellacious practices all week long paid off. I don’t think there was one single play anyone missed.”

“Yeah, we played solidly today.”

“What are you doing right now?” she asked.

“I’m about to jump in the Jeep and head home. You?”

Mary wanted to see him. He’d never been more than a second away from her thoughts all day, even when the Tide wasn’t broadcasting on the television. Would he think she was too needy? Too desperate if she asked him over?

Even though she’d texted him earlier, he was the one who was calling her tonight.

Deciding to trust her instincts which had led her this far, she gave in.

“I was thinking about taking Max out for our evening walk. You want to join us?”

On his end, Michael transferred his cell to his other ear, cranked the Jeep’s engine and pulled out of the Tide’s parking lot. He felt like pumping his fists in victory since Mary was as anxious to see him as he was to see her. He’d seriously thought he’d fucked things up with her at the end of last night, coming on too strong and being too demanding. But then her text this morning made him feel as though he’d won the lottery.
She’d been thinking of him.
He’d been thinking of her too, all night in fact, after she’d left.

“Sounds good.”

“Great. See you soon.”

Twenty minutes later, he arrived at her place and after they walked Max, she’d gone one step further and asked him to stay for dinner.

“If you don’t mind chick food,” she’d stated on their way back to her apartment.

“Depends. What do you classify as chick food?”

“Chicken Caesar salad.”

“Caesar was a man. Shouldn’t that count for something?” he quipped, loving this easy banter that had never been a part of his life, and surely never a part of his romantic life, but now seemed completely natural with Mary.

She laughed. “He was a man, but usually most men think of salads as women food.”

“I’m not most men,” he responded.

“No, Michael, you’re certainly not. So, is that a yes?” she’d asked as they entered her apartment.

“Yes. A definite yes.”

He and Mary had watched television on the couch before their bodies took over. Mary had sidled up next to him and he’d wrapped his long arms around her, cuddling her in as close as can be. The contact lead to caressing, which led to kissing, which then led to more kissing in lots of other places. They had a repeat on the couch, only this time, he was inside of her.

Afterwards, they’d showered in Mary’s bathroom, soaping each other up, lathering the other one with suds and strategically placing the sole wash cloth they were both sharing for lots and lots of fun. Mary looked at him oddly as he intentionally backed up and out of the bathtub, but thankfully she didn’t ask as he held her hands, pulling her along with him. After toweling each other off, they’d settled into Mary’s queen-sized bed where Michael breathed a big, deep sigh of contentment and dragged her into his arms.

“Nice bed you got here,” he murmured, kissing her ear as she draped herself across his chest and placed her hands up his pecs.

“It’s one of the few items I actually splurged on a few years ago when I started working. I needed a new mattress and new headboard and when I started shopping and testing them out, I lay down on this one and never wanted to get back up. I think the first week it was delivered, I overslept every single morning because I couldn’t bring myself to get out of bed on time.”

Mary’s bed was the most comfortable bed Michael had ever had the pleasure to lie in. Far more firm and comfortable than any of the numerous hotel beds he’d slept in throughout the years. The thin mattress he’d grown up on wasn’t fit for a dog’s bed, let alone a little boy’s. The one at Catholic Central hadn’t been much thicker, nor had the ones at Wisconsin been more than simply serviceable. When Michael had signed with the Tide and set out to furnish his condo, he had given himself one day to find everything and bought the first bed he’d seen, never testing the mattress. While it was fine, he now realized how much better he could have had it. Of course, a lot of that could be due to the warm woman in his arms.

Michael spent the night Sunday night and woke up with Mary when her alarm went off and she began getting ready for school. He’d sweetly offered to walk Max to allow her more time to get ready and gave her quite the send-off kiss before he too, set off for the day.

~ * ~ * ~

All day long, her mind had been on him, reliving the events of the weekend and wondering what activities she should plan for them to do. His schedule was busy during the season given the daily practices, games, and travel required and so was hers, but where there was a will, there was a way.

Mary didn’t even know what Michael liked to do outside of football and sex, both of which he was exceptionally skilled at. He enjoyed music and Portland had a terrific live music scene, filled both with local bands as well as national acts who came to play at the Rose Garden and the Roseland Theatre. Maybe they could take in a couple of shows. Or maybe they could do some hikes? Michael was fit and Portland had lots of great hikes, in and around the city.

On Monday during lunch, Mary was pleased as punch to see Michael had texted her.
Hey. How’s class?
They’d texted back and forth all day as much as Mary could inconspicuously hide her cell phone. Cell phone usage was banned during class and she didn’t want to appear to be a hypocrite. Later that night, Michael again came over, this time bringing a pizza and salad from Pizzicato. They noshed while watching the Monday night football game. Michael had declined to spend the night again, citing a five a.m. wake up call he’d set for some ridiculously early practice on Tuesday. All week long, they’d texted when they were apart and spent every night together during which they experimented with a variety of new positions and acts.

Mary floated on a sensual haze of pure bliss. Nothing could keep the smile off her face whenever Michael’s voice touched her ears. Or her arms felt his touch. Or when she was thinking about him. He was sweeter than she ever could have anticipated, like when he noticed she was running low on beer on Wednesday night and brought a twelve pack with him the next time he came over on Friday.