On The Rebound

by Alexandra Warren

  “Shit, even better,” he insisted, moving to stand behind me in the mirror where he took it upon himself to undress me. And then, while I got the water on and adjusted to my desired temperature, Kage used the moment to gargle a little mouthwash before he commented, “You were cuttin’ up last night.”

  Just the mention was enough to make me giggle as I finally stepped into the shower and told him, “I don’t remember all the specifics, but I do remember having a lot of fun.”

  “Yeah, we definitely did that,” he agreed, following in behind me as he acknowledged, “Your friends were hella coo too.”

  Thinking of them and all the teasing I’d endured throughout the night made me give a subtle roll of my eyes as I soaped my loofa and shared, “When we left, they wouldn’t stop ragging on me about how cute the two of us were together.”

  Taking the loofa from my hand, Kage instructed me to turn around so that he could wash my back before he responded, “They’re not wrong. I mean, shit. Look at me.”

  Again, I rolled my eyes, this time at his arrogance that had him chuckling to himself as he corrected, “Nah, you’re definitely the star of this show,” pressing a gentle kiss to my shoulder to emphasize, “Everywhere. Always.”

  His words, along with the feel of him using one hand to scrub me with the loofa while the other one fondled, was enough to make me moan as I closed my eyes and let him work. But when he slipped a hand between my thighs, I was forced to brace myself against the wall in front of me, struggling to keep myself steady as he dropped the loofa in favor of using that hand to soap my breast directly while the other played with my pussy.

  It was the right decision on his part, my bottom lip caught between my teeth as Kage massaged my clit with his fingertips while using the other hand to pinch my nipple. And with his mouth all over my neck and his hard dick pressed up against the crack of my ass, I didn’t even think twice about telling him to put it in, the towel rack nearby giving me something to hold onto as Kage bent me over just slightly so that he could enter me from behind.

  That shit felt way too good, dangerously good, the kind of good that almost made you forget that this was exactly how children got made. But with every stroke, I cared less about any potential consequences and more about how much I could take before I came completely undone, my entire being tingling as Kage crashed my shit from the back like his life depended on it until I screamed with my climax.

  “Good girl,” he coached, giving me a hard and wet smack to the ass as he pulled out so that he could turn me around. And with his hand at my throat, he backed me against the shower wall and kissed me hard, lifting one of my legs towards his waist and then the other so that he could fuck me there too.

  Again, the shit felt dangerous. But this time, for new reasons. I mean, everything was slick, Kage’s ankle wasn’t completely healed, it could’ve gone bad very easily. But with the focus of a champion, Kage was determined not to let the elements deter him from making us feel good, my arms wrapped tightly around his neck as he stroked me senseless until he groaned, “Shit, I’m ‘bout to nut.”

  With that, I couldn’t have gotten down fast enough, grateful that he’d issued a warning with enough time for me to do so even though I almost busted my ass when I landed. But it was a pleasure watching Kage stroke his dick as his seed splashed near my feet, his grunts only making it that much hotter as I teased, “Good boy.”

  Smirking, he grabbed me by the front of my neck to pull me back towards him for a kiss, our makeout session almost getting shit started right back up again until the water started feeling too lukewarm. And since Kage hadn’t gotten me completely clean the first time, I took a second to finish the job with him doing a quick wash-up of his own using the hotel body wash before we finally got out to dry off.

  With a towel wrapped around my body and a towel wrapped around Kage’s waist, we somehow ended up back in bed, the rest of the morning spent cuddled up as we bounced back and forth between sharing lazy kisses and talking about everything under the sun. But once it had completely risen, reality hit that we couldn’t stay like this all day since Kage had to sit on a panel for one of the companies he was endorsed by this afternoon, and I had to work the game tonight, a bit of a frown on my face even as I teased, “I would say it’s time for you to take the walk of shame, but there’s literally nothing for you to be ashamed of.”

  “Yeah, I tore your ass up,” he responded as he got up from the bed to grab his clothes, his arrogance making me roll my eyes even as I giggled, “Oh, whatever.”

  “I didn’t?” he pressed, moving back towards the bed with his dick poking through his towel when he continued, “Cause I mean, if there’s still any confusion, I’d be happy to remind you one last time.”

  His offer was tempting. But I knew if I didn’t save myself now, I’d be moving funny later, smirking when I suggested, “How about you save that energy for after the game tonight?”

  I knew he didn’t really need to “save” anything since Kage was always ready, always able. Even right now, I was confident that he’d give a performance worth ordering room service for if I let him. But thankfully, he didn’t challenge me on it since I already felt myself growing weak at the thought, instead getting dressed to leave before I sent him off with a kiss.

  I should’ve known the weekend was panning out to be too good to be true.

  I mean, I was having such an amazing time with my colleagues and friends, having such an amazing time with Kage. It only made sense that the devil would try to interfere with my good vibes by sending Todd my way, the smug look on his face when we bumped into each other at the arena enough to annoy me long before he even said, “Damn, Bleu-Boo. You look incredible.”

  Hearing that old nickname made my skin prickle with irritation, though I chose to keep a polite smile on my face when I responded, “No longer your Bleu-Boo, but thanks.”

  With that, I went back to reviewing my notes for tonight’s game, my dismissive energy doing nothing to keep Todd from making a complete fool of himself when he asked, “You wore that cause you knew I’d be here, huh?”

  The laugh I let off was filled with disbelief as I turned his way to suggest, “You should probably start seeing that neurologist sooner than later, cause it’s obvious you must’ve taken one too many hits out on the gridiron if you think I’d put on anything with you in mind.”

  For whatever reason, that made him smirk as he insisted, “CTE jokes aren’t funny, Bleu.”

  “I’m not laughing, Todd,” I responded, giving him a serious stare before I went back to what I was doing as a means of dismissing him yet again. But as usual, Todd couldn’t find a hint unless they were throwing it to him down the field, moving his body a little too closely to mine when he said, “Look. I know things got a little crazy last time we spoke. But what’s it gonna take for you to consider giving us another chance?”

  “Hell to freeze over, pigs to fly, the Lord Jesus himself to come back and say I should, which… I love Jesus, but he’d have to take the L on that one cause it’s not happening,” I answered, chuckling at my own joke until Todd asked, “Is it because there’s someone else?”

  Obviously, there was someone else. But honestly, that fact didn’t even crack the top five of reasons why I didn’t want anything to do with Todd by this point, a frown on my face when I told him, “Quite frankly, that is none of your business.”

  At that, I started to walk away because this conversation had already gone on way longer than necessary. But Todd was right on my heels, being bold about it when he asked, “Who is it? Hunter?”

  Something about him mentioning an actual name stopped me in my tracks, my eyebrows bunched in annoyance as Todd continued, “Yeah, I saw that little interview y’all did. And I’m sure that’s not the only time you let him touch you.”

  “See. It’s that shit right there,” I snapped, turning around to face him when I asked, “What is that? Why is that? Do you really think that’s helping your case, or are you just saying shit
cause you hate to see me doing just fine after you publicly embarrassed yourself and me?”

  Even though we were in a more private area reserved for media personnel and players, that question still drew a few eyes, the unwanted attention frustrating Todd enough to pull me outside of the door. But with the new location came another, more important set of eyes, Kage and Zeb both frowning as they looked between the two of us before Kage stepped up to ask, “Bleu, everything good?”

  With a heavy sigh, Todd answered, “This is none of your business, man.”

  “Nah, she is my business,” Kage clarified, his territorial energy lowkey distracting me until Todd asked, “Oh, so that’s who it is? You fuckin’ him now? Cause I’m pretty sure I remember you specifically tellin’ me you didn’t wanna fuck Kage Steele.”

  Rolling my eyes, I responded, “If I say yes, will that make you leave me alone for good?”

  I knew it was a “yes”. But the ambiguity of my response made the blow to his ego hit that much harder, his scowl tight when he spewed, “Should’ve known your ass wasn’t any different than the rest of these groupies.”

  The way he said it, you would’ve thought groupies weren’t winning every day, that fact making his little parting shot a non-factor as I huffed a laugh through my nose while watching him walk away. And when Zeb pumped his chest out in Todd’s direction after he’d already past him, I really start giggling, turning back towards Kage who had a serious look in his eyes when he inquired, “You told him, specifically, that you didn’t wanna fuck me?”

  Truthfully, I’d forgotten all about that until Todd brought it up. But now that it was clear Kage felt a little way about it, I realized I was going to have to explain myself, getting ready to do so until Kage amusedly asked, “Why you lie to that man like that?”

  Now that I knew he was only messing with me, I couldn’t help shoving him in the arm, that reaction only making him laugh harder as he reasoned, “I mean, come on now. When you know, you know. And baby, you definitely knew.”

  “Anyway,” I groaned with a playful roll of my eyes. “Thank you, for having my back.”

  Surely, I could’ve handled the situation on my own. But it still felt good to have Kage’s support, a grin on his face when he wrapped an arm around my shoulder and pulled me into his side while assuring me, “It’s nothin’, baby. I got you. Always.”

  The quick kiss he pressed to the top of my head only affirmed that, making me blush as I rested my hand against his chest when I peeked up to tell him, “And I got you too.”

  The lustful look he responded with told me that if we were anywhere else, we definitely would’ve been tonguing each other down by now. But instead, we found ourselves cracking up laughing once Zeb’s silly ass blurted, “Hashtag black love.”

  Sixteen

  It felt good to be back on the court.

  I hadn’t exactly been cleared to play in a real game quite yet. But I was at least able to test out my ankle during some pregame shootaround drills, feeling light on my feet thanks to all the extra rehabbing I’d been doing to ensure I could make it back before the playoffs.

  It was around the clock with physical therapy and recovery treatments, training and nutrition. Hell, even getting an exact amount of sleep every night apparently played a part in my body’s ability to heal itself, making it mandatory that I give myself and Poochie a bedtime. But the most important thing was keeping the right energy around me, beyond grateful to have Bleu in my corner since her ass stayed beaming with positivity.

  Any time I had a hard day of rehab, she was quick to remind me that it would all be worth it soon. Any time I started questioning if it was even realistic for me to expect to be the same explosive player I once was, she assured me that I was receiving the best medical attention possible to make that happen. And any time I just wasn’t feeling like myself, she came through with something to make me smile or laugh.

  She was my calm, my inspiration, the wise one, my Bleu.

  “Damn, a nigga gettin’ a lil’ poetic,” I thought as Dre passed me the ball so I could put up another shot, watching it go through the net only making me feel more encouraged about my regular-season return. And Dre apparently thought so too, nodding as he caught the ball out of the hoop and said, “The ankle’s lookin’ good, bruh.”

  “I know, right?” I bragged, Dre tossing me the ball back extra hard to humble my ass. But even when it hit me in the chest with a hard thud, all I could do was laugh as I told him, “Bro, chill. You know I’m still on the inactive list.”

  Shaking his head, he was with me as I got a few more shots up, then ran through some footwork drills. And even though there was a little swelling in my ankle by the time I was finished, I still felt good about my progress as I headed to the training room to get treatment before I caught a quick shower and got changed into something regular to wear while I supported my squad from the sidelines.

  At least, that was what I was planning to do until there was chatter in the locker room about the game possibly being canceled due to some crazy virus going around. And once the news broke that someone on another team had tested positive for it, shit got hectic real quick as the league immediately suspended the season until further notice and sent everyone home to self-quarantine since there was a possibility that my teammates had been exposed after playing against the team with the positive player just a few nights back.

  Honestly, I didn’t know what to think.

  I was confused, disappointed, lowkey nervous since apparently the potential symptoms of the virus wasn’t nothin’ to play with. And I was worried about Bleu since she stayed on-the-go even more than I did, her crazy travel schedule and close proximity to the players only increasing the chances of her possibly being exposed too.

  Even though we hadn’t crossed paths back at the arena, the fact that she was scheduled to work tonight’s game meant she’d surely gotten caught up in the hysteria of it all. And while the league had been swift about sending the few fans that had shown up early as well as all the players and personnel home, I wasn’t sure what her job was on since they were technically the people responsible for reporting on everything that was happening, her safety on my mind when I decided to shoot her a text.

  “Baby, you good?” - Kage

  “Nah, this is nuts.” - Bleu

  “I’m okay though.” - Bleu

  “You okay?” - Bleu

  “Yeah, I’m straight. At home now.” - Kage

  “I’ll be by later.” - Bleu

  Her coming through after the game had always been in the plans. But with everything going on, I felt myself growing even more anxious about it; especially as I watched all the news coverage surrounding the shutdown and what that meant for the rest of the season.

  There was talk of resuming the season in thirty days.

  Talk of who might need to get tested.

  Talk of not resuming the season at all.

  Basically, nobody really knew what the fuck was going on or what the fuck was about to happen next, the uncertainty of it all only making the situation that much crazier as I decided to reach out to Ms. Jeanine since I knew she’d been at the arena too.

  I sent her a text that said, “You alright, Ms. J?” But I shouldn’t have been surprised when she responded to that message with a phone call, the frustration all in her tone when she immediately asked, “Can you believe I may never get to perform the routine I choreographed to that new Drake and Future song?” mumbling more to herself than me, “Life is good. No, life ain’t good.”

  Chuckling, I told her, “Safety first, Ms. J. Especially for you.”

  “Especially for me?” she repeated, clearly offended by the question when she asked, “What the hell is that supposed to mean? Just how old do you think I am, Kage?”

  “I… am not gonna answer that,” I responded wisely just as the keypad on the front door began to beep, my eyes moving that way to catch Bleu walking in and Poochie running to greet her as I told Ms. Jeanine, “I was just checkin’
in to make sure you were all good, though. Bleu just got here.”

  “Tell her I said heyyyy, Miss. Bleu,” she sang into my ear as I watched Poochie show Bleu mad love like she’d missed her. And since I’d missed her ass too, I couldn’t wait to get in on the action, already knowing to respond, “She said heyyy, Ms. Jeanine.”

  That made Bleu look my way and giggle when she plopped down on the couch with Poochie in her arms as Ms. Jeanine said, “Alright, well I’ll let you two get to gettin’. I’m about to go and make me one of those tikky-toks.”

  Frowning amusedly, I asked, “You mean, a TikTok?”

  “That’s what I said, ain’t it?”

  Once again, I couldn’t help but laugh as I told her, “Aight, Ms. J. You have fun with that. I’ll talk to you later.”

  Ending the call, I was quick about getting all up in Bleu’s face when I moved to her side of the couch and asked, “Where’s my kiss at?”

  “You were talking,” she giggled, pressing a quick peck to my lips before she put Poochie down and inquired, “How’s the ankle feeling today?”

  “Does it matter? Ain’t like we’re gonna be playing again any time soon anyway,” I grumbled, the whole thing trippin’ me out as Bleu nodded and agreed, “Yeah, this shit is crazy.”

  “Crazy” was starting to feel like an understatement, especially once Bleu went on to say, “I mean, I’ve worked in sports for a long time, and I’ve neverrrr seen anything like this. And the network is panicking now that all the other professional leagues are talking about suspending their seasons too.”

  It might’ve sounded like an extreme response. But after seeing all the shit they were saying about it on T.V., I knew it was necessary, sharing that same opinion with Bleu when I told her, “It’s the right thing to do until they can figure out what the fuck is goin’ on.”