Whiplash: A Sports Romance (30 page)

“Good.” I turn onto the highway to take us out of town. “Let’s go have some fun.”

***

Eliza throws her head back to laugh and my heart beats a little faster.

“I think that’s two wins for
me
,” she says, “and
zero
for you.”

“Who knew you had such a hidden talent for busting balls, Ellie?” I joke, shaking my head at the scoreboard as more tickets spit out the bottom of the machine.

“It’s my specialty.”

I laugh and gather the tickets. “One more game?” I ask, glancing around the nearly abandoned arcade. My nerves skip around, torn between delaying the inevitable a bit longer or ripping that bandage off.

She holds back a yawn. “Sure, if you want.”

I smile. “Or would you like to go home and get some rest?”

“Do you mind?” she asks, her face scrunching up.

“Not at all.” I feel a rush of panic but it quickly goes away while I look into her eyes. “Come on.”

I take the tickets to the counter and Frank grins at us both.

“Nice haul tonight, Junior…” He pulls the tickets towards his counting machine. The numbers tick up and I stare at Eliza’s gorgeous face as my pulse skips faster towards the next moment.

“Looks like…” Frank turns to the prize wall and points towards a line of teddy bears. He fires a wink at me. “One of those.”

“She’ll take it.”

Eliza laughs. “The last one is mostly covered in drool now, so I can definitely use a new one…”

Frank pulls the bear off the wall and hands it to Eliza. “For the lucky girl.”

I instantly flash back to that night. She’s absolutely right — it’s hard to believe it’s been a whole year since I first brought her here. Back then, it was just a fun night out with a pretty girl that hopefully ended in copious amounts of casual sex. Back then, that’s as far forward into the future as I was capable of thinking. But now…

Eliza squeezes the bear in her hands, grinning just like she did before. It’s the exact same bear with light brown fur and extra soft padding, but it doesn’t take her long to notice the one difference between this one and the one tucked inside our daughter’s crib.

Her finger slides along the red ribbon around its neck until it touches the diamond ring hanging there waiting for her.

She pauses, her face blank as fresh snow until it finally sets in. “Junior…”

I lower down to one knee and her jaw drops.

“Ellie… I know we talked about this…”

“Junior, what are you doing?”

I take the bear and slide the ring free of its ribbon. “But I want to talk about it again.”

“Oh, my god…”

I hold her left hand and it shakes in my fingers. “I love you, Eliza Pierce. I’ve said that to you every day since November but I still don’t think you believe me.”

Her eyes twitch with sadness. “That’s not true.”

“It’s okay, Ellie. I don’t blame you. Life hasn’t always been fair to you and trust doesn’t come easy.” I squeeze her hand as her eyes start to water. “I’ve always said I’d wait for you and I still mean that but I want you to hear this.”

She nods. “Okay…”

“You told me once that you always wanted a normal, boring family and I want to give you that.” She chuckles and tears fall. “You deserve that more than anybody I’ve ever met. You’ve already given me the most perfect, gorgeous daughter and… I owe you the world. I will spend the rest of my life making sure that happens.”

“Birthday cards and Christmas cookies?” she asks, a light sniffle passing through her nose.

“All of it.” I slide the ring onto her finger and breathe a silent sigh of relief as it fits her perfectly. “You’ll never feel lonely or ignored ever again, Eliza Pierce.”

“Promise?” She peeks down at me with expectation, her lips curling as she waits for me to say it.

I drop a hand to my chest and I draw an X. “Cross my heart.”

Gravity pulls the tears down her cheeks but she still laughs, barely holding herself together. I stand to wrap my arms around her, embracing her as close to me as possible.

“
I love you
. Marry me. I’m nothing without you.”

She raises her head and wipes her eyes. “Well, when you put it like that…”

I laugh. “It’s the truth. Do you really think I would have won all those games if you
weren’t
withholding sex from me?” She buries her face in my chest again, shaking hard with laughter. “I swear, Ellie… there is not a single thing I wouldn’t do for you.”

“Oh, really?” she teases. “Sounds like you’ll need similar incentive this season if we expect to keep your stats up.”

I point a finger at her, realizing the mistake I’ve made. “Now, hold on… I didn’t mean—”

She steps out of my arms and grins. “Too late now,
Junior
.”

I wince. “I hate it when you say it like that…”

“Win the game next week and I’ll stop.”

“Ellie…”

She spins around with her teddy bear and walks towards the exit. “Keep up,
Junior
.”

I growl and step forward, struggling to catch up with her lightning fast gait. She plows through to the parking lot and I follow her back to the van.

“Can we maybe talk about this first?”

“I think we’ve talked enough,” she says, sliding the back door open. “Words won’t get us anywhere… moans and grunts, however…”

I bite my lip, casting a quick glance inside at the mattress as she smiles back at me. “Does this mean I still qualify for admission?”

“Well, you’re not a loser…
yet.
” She lowers herself inside and lies back against the pillows. “Might as well take what you can get while you can.”

I raise an eyebrow. “Anything I want?”

She refuses to answer but her eyes tell me everything.

I’m not about to argue with that willing, seductive smirk, so I hop inside the van and slide the door closed behind me.

Her hands instantly fly to my belt and my cock springs to life, pressing hard against my zipper. She licks her lips and her little, blue eyes flick up at me; playful and beautiful as ever. Her left hand slides into my pants and the diamond on her finger shimmers in the soft lighting.

“Wait…” I pause, grabbing her hand. “You never said yes.”

Eliza smiles and her eyes fall to the ring. “Oh, yeah. Sure. I guess.”

“You
guess
?”

“I’ll think about it.”

“Excuse me,” I chuckle, “but I
nailed
that proposal.”

She wrinkles her nose. “It was all right.”

“
All right?!
You cried.”

“I sniffled a little.”

“Say yes,” I demand.

Her lips curl. “Maybe.”

“Okay, that’s it…” I grab her and push her onto her back while she squeals with laughter.

“What are you doing?!” she cries, not lifting a single hand to stop me while I travel down her body.

I hook my fingers into her panties beneath her skirt and pull them down to her ankles. “I’m going to make you say yes,” I growl. “And then I’m going to do it again.”

She laughs loudly and I spread her knees wide, positioning myself between them while I kiss her again. Her hands tug at my belt and I taste that sexy, primal urge on her tongue.

It’s been months since we’ve been alone this way; just two kids getting it on in the back of a van without a care in the world. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss it but I wouldn’t trade what I have for anything else in the world.

I slide inside of her, filling her as far as I can and she gasps in pleasure. My lips curl as I watch it flash all over her face; that heated bliss of satisfaction. She holds onto me and wraps her legs around my waist, urging me to the take her the way she likes it and there’s no way in hell I’ll ever deny her that.

I get to work, angling my hips to intensify our grind and she purrs in my ear. My entire body surges with hers, blending passions until we feel nothing else.

I sit up, pulling her along with me to straddle my waist and she cries out before settling against me again.

She crushes her lips on mine, each of us moaning and fucking until we can hardly breathe. Her nails dig into me and her body goes tense, just moments away from wreckage.

I gaze into her perfect eyes and fall in love with the way they twitch with passion as she moans my name.

She kisses me as she comes, counting on me to hold her steady but I can barely keep myself together.

I fall to my back and she collapses with me onto the bouncy mattress, gently quivering against me as we both ride our climaxes to the end.

“Well?” I ask, laying kisses along her forehead.

Eliza smiles, pausing for a moment to catch her wild breath.

“Yes,” she answers.

Epilogue

Five Years Later

Eliza

I pull the blanket off the back of the sofa and drape it over the giant beach ball taking hold of my stomach. After a few seconds of fidgeting to get comfortable, I end up giving up completely.

“Eliza, are you even listening to me?”
Grant says, his voice just barely audible through the speaker on my phone lying next to my head.

I grab it and hold it to my ear. “Yeah, I’m here,” I grunt. “I’ve officially reached the stage of this pregnancy where nothing is ever good enough and I want to launch myself off the nearest skyscraper.”

“Oh, boo-hoo,” he laughs. “You get to lay around all day in Suburbia and eat bonbons with my adorable goddaughter. I’m the one that has to deal with actual children.”

I chuckle. “Louise isn’t…
that
bad.”

“Pfft. She’s no
you
.”

“Well, I’ll try and schedule my next procreation so it doesn’t interfere with your plans, Grant.”

“Thank you. That’s all I ask,” he sighs. “When does Lover Boy get back anyway?”

I glance out the window at the quiet street corner. Snow tumbles down from the sky, covering the black street with a fresh layer of white.

“I’m picking him up from the airport in the morning,” I answer. “Did you watch the game on Thanksgiving?”

“You ask that as if I had a choice,” he laughs. “Ty has been emailing me highlights from it for two days straight.”

“He’s just proud of his favorite client.” I shift again the couch, feeling a harsh cramp taking hold of my lower back. “Is Ty home yet?”

“No, I think he’s got some conference this weekend in Dallas or somewhere. No one told me marrying a sports agent would mean spending so many holidays alone.”

I throw on a pout and look out the window again. “I feel your pain.”

“At least I have my ingenue… when she’s not
gestating
.”

“I’m sorry!” I laugh.

“It’s okay. I’m only kidding. If that kid is anything like the one you already have, it’ll be worth it.”

I slide a hand over my belly and smile. “I agree.”

A taxi pulls to a stop on the corner outside and I squint to get a better look through the thick, falling snow.

A man steps out from the backseat; tall, wide shoulders, handsome—

I gasp.
“Oh, my god!”

“What?” Grant asks. “Is there baby? Is baby happening?”

I rock back and forth, gaining momentum to push myself off the couch. “It’s Junior!”

“What?
Where?”

“Outside.” I hobble to the front door and throw it open, not caring about the cold, invading snow. “A taxi just dropped him off.”

Junior looks up at the house and grins, no doubt fetching the exact reaction from me as he planned.

“Ohh,”
Grant says. “It’s the old
I caught an earlier flight to surprise you
trick. I love that man.”

“Back off. He’s already taken,” I say into the phone, watching as Junior pays his driver and grabs his suitcase off the ground.

“Well… bed him well. He’s earned it. Meanwhile, I’ll be over here in the city, drinking Chardonnay alone, and crying over Louise’s headshot.”

“Bye, Grant,” I grin.

“Bye, Eliza.”

I lower the phone as my husband climbs the porch in front of me. He pauses a few feet away and drops his suitcase, never once glancing away from my face.

“What are you doing here?” I ask.

“I caught an earlier flight to surprise you,”

I throw myself at him and he opens his arms, instantly embracing me and laughing in my ear.

“I guess that’s okay?”

“It’s more than
okay
,” I say, my voice muffled against his chest. I feel the tears threatening to take over already but I manage to defeat the hormones before they spill over. “Come on. It’s
freezing
out here.”

Junior grabs his suitcase and I brush the snow off his coat as we step inside.

“Okay…” He kicks the door closed and motions for me to twirl. “Let me look at you.”

I sigh and spin in a slow, meager circle.

“My god…”

“What?”

“You’re
huge
.”

“Excuse me…”
My jaw drops. “This is all
your
fault.”