by Hazel Parker
“And what did you do when you saw Daddy?”
I couldn’t help myself.
“I saw Daddy!”
Now I didn’t know what to think. But the questions had shown me I could pause my sprinting mind for just a few seconds long enough to collect myself.
When I got home, I put Ryan down in the living room, locked all the doors, examined every nook and corner of the apartment, checked all the windows and doors for signs of forced entry, and let myself slump onto the couch when I finally felt like I could relax.
And now it was time to see if I could have some safety.
I pulled up Nick Ferrari’s number. Was it even fair for me to do what I was about to do? I’d been so distant and so confusing with him, and now I was going to be the gal that reached out and asked if I could spend time with him?
If I did…there was almost certainly no stopping what would happen next. But…I didn’t want to stop what happened next. I just wanted to stop getting hurt again. Would Nick do that?
Far more likely than Malcolm not hurting you.
“Hey, Nick,” I wrote. I just decided to be somewhat honest. “I’m sorry I’ve been coy and distant. Dealing with a lot. But I’d like to see you. Just not out in public?”
As soon as I sent the text, I knew I’d get a positive response one way or the other. So, while waiting for him to respond, I picked up the phone and called my mother.
“Hello, Izzy,” she said in her usual pleasant tone. “How are you?”
I bit my lip. My jaw was starting to ache from how much I was clenching my teeth.
“Doing all right,” I said, which was as much as I was willing to put on my mother. “I was actually wondering if you could watch Ryan tonight. I’m going out for the evening with some friends.”
“Oh, of course!” my mother said. “We wouldn’t ever pass up a chance to see our little Ryan!”
At least I have my parents, I thought.
“Great, can I drop him off at six?”
My mother agreed, and shortly after, I hung up. The instant I did, I saw that I had a new message.
“All good, and yes, I’d like to see you too. You can come to my place at seven tonight if that works?”
What a world it was that I was going to the home of a professional baseball player that I’d been connected to in the tabloids for some privacy and some security against an ex that no one outside his small circle of asshole friends knew.
But it was a world that I had to make the most of because anything less was going to result in disastrous consequences.
* * *
“Izzy? Are you OK?”
I’d managed to drop Ryan off at my mother’s house, say hello to her and my father, and make pleasant conversation long enough that it didn’t feel like I was just dumping him off by the curbside. It was already half-past six, and I knew I wasn’t going to get to Nick’s at seven like I’d hoped.
But I hadn’t sold myself off as relaxing well enough. I’d gotten all the way to my car before my mother had asked that question—and now, I understood why. It was the first time I’d gotten out of earshot since I’d dropped Ryan off.
“Ryan said he saw Daddy today,” I said. “I think he’s just referring to a game or song he played. But…”
Mom didn’t ask anything more. She just nodded. Malcolm had done many things to me, but he’d never come close to my parents, although I worried that was a function less of some weird ethical and moral code and more because he’d never been around them in a state of rage.
I got into my car, revved the engine, and drove out a little faster than normal, albeit under much more control than when I had left my office or the daycare center. I only had about twenty minutes worth of driving to get to Nick’s, and then I would feel much safer.
Nick’s house was about halfway between Sacramento and San Francisco, a little bit northeast of Oakland. I wondered how he commuted into the city given how limited parking was, but then again, as a star athlete, the typical rules probably didn’t really apply to Nick.
Like, for example, the idea that one could only find a small space to live in in the Bay Area.
In fact, when I pulled up to Nick’s property, I didn’t park in his driveway as I had to call him to get the gate code. He chuckled a bit, apologizing for forgetting that detail—as if it were just some small cosmetic thing that was easily overlooked—and let me in. I immediately felt, despite making pretty decent income at my job, that I was in a world that I did not belong.
But as soon as I parked my car and got out, I saw Nick emerging from the front of his house. He was dressed much more casually than before—he had on jeans, but he also had on a Fresno State hoodie and a baseball hat. It was kind of a sexy look, honestly; it masked his face just enough that it was like he was hiding in the shadows, and there was something so damn provoking about that.
“Come on inside,” he said. “Security’s usually good about making sure no one’s near here, but you can never be too careful.”
He let me walk by him. I opened the massive front door and walked into what could, if I was conservatively speaking, only be called a massive home. There were two staircases on either side of the atrium, leading to an upstairs that was adorned with multiple paintings along the way. A massive chandelier hung in the middle of the room.
But before I could take another step forward, Nick came up behind me, wrapped me close, and kissed me on the cheek. I had never felt safer in my life than in the arms of a man as fit and strong as Nick Ferrari.
“What’s going on?” he said, his tone light but curious. “I know spring training made it impossible to hang, but—”
“Nick, that photo…”
“I know,” he said, pulling his arms back and escorting me into the kitchen, where he already had some Ferrari red wine waiting for me. “It’s fucking terrible that they published that. The Giants and I are already working on it—”
“It’s not that,” I said.
I waited for Nick to place the glass of wine in front of me as I took a seat. I lifted it to my nostrils, took in the oaky scent, and felt my heartbeat slow. I could finally unwind. I could truly feel safe.
“I told you about my ex and how he was an asshole and all that,” I said. “But I’m not sure to what extent you understood how dangerous he is. He’s not just an ass, Nick. He’s an abusive ass.”
Nick pursed his lips, his grip on the glass in front of him tightening.
“Part of the reason I’m here in the Bay Area is because when he finally went to jail for everything he did, I knew that nothing would change him. He could fake his way and charm his way through anything and anyone, but the demon inside of him would never go away. I had to get out of Southern California, and I couldn’t tell anyone where I was going. So without much notice, I moved up here where my parents are. And for a while, it worked. But about a month and a half ago, I learned that Malcolm got out early, apparently on ‘good behavior.’”
“That’s fucking bullshit.”
“It is. But at the time, while it scared me, I also had a feeling that I didn’t have anything to worry about that much. After all, I was at least a couple hours’ worth of a plane ride away. And even then, it’s not like this is a small area. But…”
We both sighed at the same time. It would have been kind of cute if not for the seriousness of the situation.
“I don’t even mind that the world knows I was with you. But I mind that Malcolm knows I was with you.”
“Because he knows now that you must be in the Bay Area,” he said. “Those fucking scumbags. If they know what’s going on, I mean, they’re generally heartless sociopaths, but even they are going to recognize—”
But now, strangely enough, it was my turn to put Nick at ease. I reached over and grabbed his hand. For having not touched him at all since that night, and for having had so many doubts in the month since that spanned his spring training, it felt surprisingly natural, like I was supposed to hold him like so.
&nb
sp; “I know you’ll do what you can,” I said. “The important thing is that you feel safe. And I owe you an apology for this, too. The reason I was so…I guess you could say distant, was that I just didn’t know how it would work, you as a public figure and me trying to be as private as possible. But now, it has happened. The worst-case scenario is literally unfolding with the world. And…I feel safest here.”
Nick laughed nervously.
“Thanks, I think?” he said.
“You’re welcome,” I said, giving a short giggle. “For real, though, I feel so safe here. My kid is with my parents. For at least tonight, I’m safe.”
“Well, I think we can both cheers to that,” Nick said, holding up his glass.
And with that, we had our first sip of alcohol for the evening. It made no difference to me whether it was the first or the last, because with an appreciative and good mood came a general creeping arousal that made me sure where this was going to wind up sooner rather than later. I didn’t need booze to give me liquid courage for something practically inevitable.
“It was the craziest thing,” I said. “When I saw the article, I just felt like Malcolm would somehow come up here immediately. That was ridiculous, of course.”
“Not ridiculous,” Nick said, which made me feel strangely comforted—like he sincerely was empathetic.
“Well, my boss was kind enough to tell me to go home. So I went to the daycare and picked up my son. And wouldn’t you know it, I get there, and Ryan goes, ‘I saw Daddy.’ And I started to panic, but when I think about it logically, I recognize that there’s no way he did.”
This time, Nick just kept silent, sipping his wine, listening closely to what I had to say.
“Even if Malcolm had made his way up to the Bay Area, the odds of him landing on the exact daycare that I had sent Ryan to are just so small. I keep thinking it was a song or someone who looked like him. The daycare staff assured me that everything would be fine. I just…”
Nick placed his wine on the table, stood up, came behind my chair, and started giving me a massage. Oh, holy fuck, that felt so good. His fingers were thick and incredibly strong, able to burrow deep into my tense muscles, kneading and rubbing them such that it felt like he was massaging my bones.
“Ohhhhh.”
I didn’t say a word for what felt like a good minute. One, this massage felt so good I didn’t know if I could actually form complete sentences while getting rubbed like this. Two, it felt like it would interrupt the tension of the moment if I did.
And three, and perhaps most importantly, this was getting me more and more aroused by the second.
“Nick…” I said breathlessly.
Then his hand went onto my head, his fingers running through my hair and along my scalp. I had never had anyone massage me like so, but heavens, that felt fucking amazing. I closed my eyes and leaned back, resting my head on his stomach. Both hands went to the sides of my head, and I felt like I’d reached the state of bliss known as Nirvana.
“Feel better?”
“Mmhmm,” I murmured, still keeping my eyes closed.
“Only awkward part is you being in a chair,” Nick said.
I know exactly why you’re saying that. And I am all for it.
I opened my eyes, stood up, and turned to him. I didn’t see the athlete, Nick Ferrari. I saw the man that I could no longer contain myself around.
I went up to him, put my arms around him, and pulled him in for a kiss.
Nick, graceful as he was, knew immediately what this was leading toward. He literally swept me off my feet, generating a yip of pleasant surprise, and carried me upstairs to his bedroom. The two of us collapsed onto the large, king-sized white bed, and I felt like I’d fallen on a cloud of the heavens.
“Oh, Nick,” I said as his kisses went from my lips to my neck. I squirmed underneath his weight and wrapped my legs around him. I could feel his bulge pressing against my jeans, and I was so wet, I was half a second away from just getting my jeans low enough to let him get inside me.
He stood up to lift his hoodie and shirt off, and I nearly lost it when I saw that abdominal wall of his. It was no surprise to see a well-defined body, but I had never seen such…such visibility. And those devil horns…
I sat up and took my shirt off as well. But instead of going back down, I pushed him to the side and mounted him. His hands went to my breasts, massaging them underneath my bra, and I leaned forward, resting my hands on his chest as I felt him work me over. He reached around, unclasped my bra, and let my breasts fall free. He pulled me closer and suckled on them.
I could have just hovered there for hours with how good he made me feel, but I wanted to feel even better. And that started with making him feel good. I kissed him on the lips before making a trail down, from his neck to his clavicle to his nipples to his abs…
I unbuttoned his jeans. There was no dramatic pause, no moment of theatrics; I needed him naked, and I needed him naked now. I curled my fingers around that and his boxers and yanked down.
I murmured something of an excited but nervous laugh when I saw the girth of his cock before me. But there was no time to wonder what his size was or if he was too big or too thick. I put my tongue at the base of his shaft, ran it up, and then swallowed him whole.
“Oh my God, Izzy,” Nick murmured. “Oh, fuck.”
I looked up at him with the most seductive eyes that I could muster. It must have worked pretty well, because Nick’s eyes went wide, and his cock seemed to harden in me. I didn’t think he was anywhere near orgasm, but it was certainly a confidence booster to know I could evoke this kind of reaction from him.
I went to work moving up and down his shaft, fondling his balls, and running my free hand over his abs, scratching and pressing wherever I could. I may not have been getting any stimulation, but seeing Nick react the way that he did was more than enough to excite me further.
“I can’t fucking take it,” he said, but in the absence of further instruction, I just kept doing what I was doing. I figured his body would find a way to, ahem, release it if it couldn’t take it.
Finally, Nick grabbed my hair and pulled me up.
“I need to be inside you so bad,” he growled, whispering hot breath into my ear. “I need you, Izzy.”
I kissed him, hovered my lips right over his, and whispered back, “Then fucking take me, Nick.”
He flipped me on my back, had my jeans off in a matter of seconds, reached for a condom in his drawer, slid it on, and then pressed down on me. He consumed me with a kiss, but the focus of my body remained down below. I was so wet he didn’t need to do anything but just slide in—
“Oh my God,” I whimpered when he did just that.
He filled me and smothered me, kissing me and drawing my breath as his cock pushed deeper inside. Slowly, gently, rhythmically at first, he pushed into me, a slow pace that allowed my body to adjust to his size—not that that meant the pleasure decreased at all.
But then, like a sprinter hearing the sound of the gun, he massively increased the pace. The bed shuffled on its moorings and creaked. Our bodies shook as Nick thrust himself into me over and over.
“Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God,” I kept saying, louder and louder every time.
Nick could have come from this very position if he wanted to—he was making me feel such bliss that I hadn’t felt in a long time. That I haven’t allowed myself to feel in such a long time.
And then the creeping feeling that filled my sex surged in me. I couldn’t fucking believe it—I had never experienced orgasm through penetration alone. But that was absolutely the feeling that was starting to rise in me. That tension, that knowledge it was so close, just right there…just a little, a little bit more…
“Oh, Nick!” I screamed as I wrapped my arms around him and started to shudder. “Fuck!”
Nick kept thrusting right through my orgasm, carrying me for a ride that lasted as long as I physically could. Once the sensation had washed through me a couple of
times and I had settled down, I could barely move. Nick, thankfully, was on the verge of finishing too—I didn’t know how he’d had the endurance to wait until I had come, but it was certainly something I wasn’t going to forget for round two.
“Right there, right there…”
And then, his breathing, already fast, turned to damn near hyperventilating sounds. And then, with a loud gasp, he came. There was just something so powerful, so incredibly hot about how a man in such control and with such power in normal life was reduced to a blabbering mess by the power of an orgasm. And that I was the one that brought him here.
His cock quivered inside of me, his arms tightened around me, and his shrill gasps filled my ear. His, obviously, didn’t last as long as mine had, but I could see the intensity of the pleasure had reached him all the same. Only when I felt him visibly relax into my arms did I know he had finished. I kissed him on the cheek and gently held him as I felt his member slowly start to go back to normal size.
He pulled out of me, drawing a gasp from both of us before he rolled over. I cuddled up next to him and kissed him and lay my head on his resting heartbeat.
There were many things that I wanted to say right there. I knew he had many things that he wanted to say. But there was just something about the silence that put me at such ease that I didn’t feel like I had to say anything. What had just transpired…
Words weren’t needed. The only thing we needed right then was each other.
For the first time all day, I could say I felt unequivocally safe and secure. And that, by far, was the sexiest, loveliest part of the entire encounter.
Chapter 13: Nick
I woke up about five minutes before my alarm went off at seven a.m.—I had moved it back on account of the season about to start—and made sure to turn it off before it woke up Izzy.
Izzy…
There was always the moment when I first woke up after spending the night with someone, even if it was just literally a moment, where I forgot that I’d spent it with a person. All it usually took for me to remember there was someone by my side was the fact that I was on the far-left side of the bed and not in the middle.
