Off the Field: Bad Boy Sports Romance (23 page)

“Is that what we had? A solid friendship?”

He leaned forward and kissed me, taking me by surprise. We both turned toward each other. I wrapped my arms around his waist. The taste of his lips was exactly how I remembered – so different than the others I’d been with after leaving him back in Maine. Everything rushed back to me, all the good times we’d shared when I was his babysitter, not to mention his financial help.

I pulled back. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“Everything.”

I pressed my lips against his again, pushing my tongue into his mouth. As we kissed, both of us started undressing the other. He was forceful, a man who knew exactly what he wanted and how to get it. We stood to slip out of the rest of our clothes, still kissing whenever possible without toppling over. Sexual energy was thick in the air, but joy was also present.

With a smile, I got down on my knees in front of him. I grasped his cock with my hand. It was familiar but new at the same time. He stood staring down at me as I took it into my mouth like I’d really missed it. As I sucked, it got harder, a sensation that turned me on. I reached down and touched myself between my legs as I worked my mouth up and down his shaft.

He ran a hand through my hair, messing it up, but I didn’t care. All I wanted to do was pleasure him and have him do the same for me. When he was hard, he reached down and helped me to my feet. We kissed briefly before he moved toward the bed. I stepped back, sitting down on the edge. As he got down on his knees, I sighed.

“Oh, Steven,” I whispered.

I spread my legs and scooted to the very edge of the mattress as his hands ran up and down my thighs. Each and every touch was special. I wasn’t sure if it was our history together or what, but we were connected on some unknown level, each of us knowing exactly what the other wanted without them having to say anything.

As he traced the outline of my pussy with the tip of his tongue, teasing me, I ran my hand through his hair, which emboldened him. With a flat, broad tongue, he licked from the bottom of my slit to the top, brushing against the hood of my clitoris. I moaned again as he sucked a finger into his mouth then put it inside me. He wiggled it around, driving me wild.

Since leaving Maine, I’d realized that sex was much better when the two people had a strong emotional connection as well as a physical one. The three men I’d been with since leaving Steven had all possessed one part of the equation, but none of them had really truly cared about me. With Steven, it was different. He cared about me. At least I thought he did.

The way his tongue and lips slid against my delicate, pink flesh told me he cared quite a bit. I leaned back on the bed and closed my eyes, enjoying the moment. Everything made sense. Or nothing mattered. One of the two was true. All I could concentrate on was him eating me out and pleasing me with his fingers. He was a master at where to touch me, how to get me really wet.

I sat up and gasped, “Fuck me. Hard.”

He didn’t need to be told twice. After standing up, he grasped the base of his hard cock with one hand while be moved toward me. When it penetrated me – inch by delicious inch – I didn’t think it could get any better. Gradually, as he thrust in and out of me, the pleasure and ecstasy built up to intolerable levels. My orgasm was close. I could feel it creeping up on me.

“Yes, harder, faster,” I moaned, breathing fast and heavy.

Once again, he listened, pushing into me hard and fast. I realized in that moment I’d completely forgotten about a condom, but I didn’t care. The thought fell to the wayside as he changed up the angle of his stroke slightly, driving me crazy. I wrapped my arms around his back, the muscles moving as he held himself up with his arms and penetrated me over and over again.

I came in a flash. The world faded for a second or two as pleasure rushed through my body, centered on my tiny clitoris. A moment later, he grunted and came inside me. I watched his face contort as his orgasm hit. He collapsed on top of me, our hearts beating against each other. When he pulled out a moment or two later, I hated the separation.

“I love you Steven,” I said as he laid crossways on the bed and I scooted back.

As we enjoyed cuddling with each other, someone knocked at the door. My heart sunk as I heard Thurston’s voice on the other side.

“Nikki? Open up. We need to talk.”

“Your boyfriend?” Steven asked. I nodded. “Want me to take care of it?”

I sighed. “No, I need to take care of it.”

“Did you tell him you were coming here?”

“No. I didn’t know where I was going.”

We got dressed in robes before I went over and opened the door. Thurston barged in but stopped when he saw Steven standing next to the bed.

“Oh, hello. Who are you?”

“I’m Steven. I think Nikki wants to say something to you. After she does, you’re going to leave. Do you understand me?”

Thurston turned to look at me.

“How did you find me?” I asked.

“That app I had you install on your phone tracks your location.”

“What?!” I screamed, standing up. “Are you fucking kidding me? You were spying on me?”

“Looks like I was right in doing it,” he said, nodding his head at Steven, who stepped toward him.

“No, Steven, please don’t.” I turned back to Thurston. “You need to leave. Now. I’ll be over to get my stuff sometime over the weekend. Or maybe I’ll just leave it.”

“Whatever, Nikki.”

He stormed out of the room. After the door closed, I walked over and locked it. What the hell am I doing? As I turned back around, I burst into tears. I normally was very private with my emotions, but I couldn’t hold back. Steven rushed over and put his hand on my shoulder. I threw my arms around him, pressing my face against his chest as the tears fell.

“You okay?”

“I will be. I’m sorry. I don’t know why I’m crying.”

“It’s been an emotional night.”

“You got that right.”

“Are you coming back to Maine with me?”

I sighed, still unsure. “I don’t know.”

“Let’s go somewhere else. I’ve not traveled in a while. Name a place on the planet, and I’ll take you. Hell, tell me you want to go to the moon, and I’ll buy a fucking rocket and take you there as soon as I can.”

I laughed. All of the reasons I’d fallen in love with Steven in the first place rushed back to me. Everything made a little more sense. I’d been running from my fears instead of facing them. And from what I’d learned on my road trip, not being honest with yourself was the worst thing you could do, especially if you loved someone.

“Let’s go to Paris. I know it’s a cliché, but I’ve always wanted to see it.”

He smiled at me then hugged me tighter. “We can leave tonight or tomorrow if you want.”

“Let’s leave tomorrow. I want to spend more time with you.”

“Okay.”

We made love again. After, we called room service and had one of everything on the menu. He even managed to have half a pound of high-quality weed delivered to us after midnight. I was happy for the moment, but even better, I could see myself being happy with Steve the billionaire in the future. A week away from his children would be tough, but it would give us time to catch up and see if we were truly right for each other.

Nikki Returns to Maine

A month after I got back to Maine with Steven and moved in with him, I found out I was pregnant. The children were downstairs playing as I sat in the master bathroom and stared at the pregnancy test. What the fuck am I going to do? Questions flew through my mind as I tried to decide what to do. I took a deep breath and buried the small piece of plastic in the trash can.

Part of me was afraid to tell Steven because he might not want me anymore. At forty-three years old and with two kids of his own from a previous relationship, would he really want another one from me? I walked into the master bedroom and sat down in a recliner. The children were being watched by someone else, giving me way too much time.

I ran all the possible decisions through my mind and came up with two real options. First, I could tell Steven and hope he was okay with it. The other option was something I’d told myself many times I wouldn’t consider, but it was there in my thoughts – abortion. If I acted quickly, I could get the procedure done without anyone having to know.

After everything I’d been through since I left Maine and Steven behind, all I wanted was to be happy and settle down. The adventures I’d been on were fun and exciting, but I couldn’t see myself being a party girl the rest of my life. Are you really considering leaving a billionaire again? Are you stupid? I scolded myself, wishing I had someone to talk to about all the emotions rushing through my body.

Maryanne had been my closest friend, but after what had happened between her and Steven, I never wanted to speak to her again. Well, I did, but I couldn’t bring myself to make the call. And she would never reach out to me. That left me alone with my thoughts because I couldn’t tell the man who impregnated me about an abortion if I wanted to keep it secret.

You shouldn’t keep it a secret from him, I told myself. Then, the next second, I was ready to take it to my grave so I didn’t waste another chance with the billionaire. Beyond his money, he made me feel comfortable, safe and secure. At the end of the day, that’s all I desired – the same thing as everyone else. Why are happiness and love so not compatible most of the time?

I decided to call Thurston in Indiana. Even if I didn’t tell him what I was facing, I owed him an explanation for leaving him behind. Will he mind if I call? Would he even answer? I pulled my phone out, tapped my contact list, and swiped with my finger until I found his name and face. His photo brought back a lot of memories for me, but none of them compared with what Steven provided for me.

Reluctantly, I pressed the call button and pressed the phone to my ear. As it rang, I tried to think of what I was going to say. It would be important to keep it natural and emphasize the apology first. Calling the man I’d left behind was probably a bad idea, but without Maryanne in my life, he was the closest friend I could call. You really need to make some more friends, I thought.

After the third ring, he answered. “Hello?” he snapped, short, quick, and to the point.

“Hey, Thurston. It’s Nikki…”

“I know who it is. I’m not a fucking idiot.” He paused. “Well, I am, but that doesn’t matter. Live and learn. What’s up?”

“I’m sorry, Thurston. I was just confused. I’m still not sure what to think.”

“Then come back. Let’s work this out.” His voice had completely changed in tone.

“I can’t do that right now,” I said, starting out the large window to the acres of land outside.

“Why not?”

“I can’t explain it,” I said, which was the truth.

“He’s rich and old. I get it.”

“Thurston, it’s not like that at all. I actually love him.”

“Sure.”

By the tone of his voice, I deduced he didn’t believe me in the least.

“If you need me to forgive you, fine. I forgive you. Water under the bridge.”

“I just needed someone to talk to me.”

“Why don’t you talk to your boyfriend?” he snapped again.

“Thurston, don’t be like that, please. I can’t talk about this with him.”

“Why not?”

“Because it involves him. I just need someone to listen, okay?”

Did I make another bad decision calling him? I wondered.

“Why would I listen to anything you say? We were doing great and then all of a sudden you moved out. I threw away all the crap you left here, by the way.”

“Cool.” I didn’t have the heart to tell him Steven was a billionaire.

“Really? That’s all you have to say for yourself?”

I sighed. “I obviously made a mistake calling you. I’m sorry.”

Right after I disconnected the call, his face showed back up on the display of the phone. I tapped and swiped a few times and blocked his number. Thurston was out of my cell and out of my life. When Steven got home, I tried my hardest to hide my true feelings for him. It was going to take me a little while to tell him, but I was pretty sure I would tell him about the baby before making any decisions.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

The next day, the wrath of the geek I’d left back in Fort Wayne, Indiana reached out to touch me online. Thurston had liked and commented on every single post I’d written on Facebook in the last two weeks. I deleted him as a friend. When he continued sending friend requests, I spent an hour figuring out how to block him completely – on that social media website.

I never really used Twitter, Instagram or any of those other sites, but I had a suspicion Thurston might try to lash out at me online. When I typed my name in Google and hit the search button, I was overwhelmed with page after page mentioning my full name and phone number. Right about that time, my phone started ringing and wouldn’t stop. Every time I declined a call, another came in.

And the text messages! A lot of crude men were sending me pictures of their pathetic penises. I could only imagine where Thurston had posted my phone number and other information. He didn’t know where I lived…yet. I wouldn’t put it past him to find the information somehow. There’s no way in hell Steven is not going to see this online, I thought as I sat at a desk with my laptop in the master bedroom.