by Beth Ehemann
“What about Becca and Logan?”
“I took them with me.”
My mouth fell open. “You did?”
“Yeah. I sure as shit wasn’t leaving them there with her. Of course, she argued, but only because she would’ve looked like an even bigger bitch letting me take them without a fight.”
“Wow.” I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees. “How did you get her to let you take the kids?”
Andy looked at me and rolled his eyes. “You know how Blaire is, Brody. Money talks. Instead of ten thousand a month in child support, I offered her thirty in alimony. She couldn’t sign those papers fast enough. Gloria helped me pack up the kids’ shit and we left. I’m renting a house in town until I figure out what I want to buy. A real house—one that they can actually play in.” He sighed. “Gloria has been a huge help. I pulled the kids out of day care and I’m paying her double to be with them during the day. They seem so much happier. Me too.”
“Holy shit, dude. I had no idea all this was going on. Why didn’t you call me?” I felt awful that my best friend of twenty years was going through so much and I’d been so clueless.
He shrugged. “Last time we talked, you had a lot going on with Piper’s accident and all. You didn’t need my shit weighing on you. Besides, I’m good. Better than I have been in years. You know what the worst part is?”
I shook my head.
“We’ve been out of the house a full month and Becca and Logan haven’t asked for her once. How pathetic is that?”
“Has she asked for them?” I asked cautiously.
“Today, finally. She asked if they can spend the weekend at her house, with Gloria, of course, because God forbid she be alone with them without a nanny for longer than ten minutes.” He exhaled loudly. “It’s fine, though. I have work to catch up on and house hunting to do.”
“I’m so sorry about all this.” I was trying to ignore the knot in my stomach. “You know I’ve never been a big fan of Blaire, but I never wanted you to be a single dad either.”
“Oh, I know that. I got the best parts of her in Becca and Logan, so for that reason, I’m glad I was with her for the last few years. Now that I see how she is, I know what not to look for next time.” He laughed.
“Well, you sound pretty content. I’m happy about that.”
“I’m glad you stopped by, actually.” He stood up and walked over to his desk, picking up a piece of paper. “I have the contract termination ready for you to sign. As you know it doesn’t go into effect for sixty days, and should there be any team negotiations or if you need a new contract in that time period, of course I’ll still help you out with that.”
He handed me the paper and a pen and sat back down across from me.
I stared down at the legal bullshit, not understanding a damn word of it.
“Go ahead, sign it. Business is business, Brody. No hard feelings.”
“Fuck this,” I said, ripping the paper in half. “Regardless of your marital situation, no one has my back like you, Andy. They never have and they never will.”
“Brody, listen… you made your decision and I completely respect that.”
“I was pissed off.”
“You had reason to be,” he argued back.
“You’re damn right I did. Even so, this is not what I want.” I set the ripped-up document on the table and stood up. “Take that. Shred it, burn it, do whatever the hell you want with it, but do it after dinner. Let’s go to The Bumper. I need a burger and a beer with my best friend.”
A smile spread across Andy’s face as he stood and grabbed his suit jacket out of the closet. “You’re on.”
He opened his office door and let me go first. I clapped his shoulder as I walked past him. “To celebrate, I’m going to let you buy me dinner.”
A few hours later, I took Diesel for a quick walk and crawled into bed, exhausted from staying out too late with Andy.
My phone chirped.
K: ARE YOU STILL COMING?
FUCK! I got so caught up that I forgot I was going to go to Kacie’s tonight.
BABY, I’M SO SORRY. I HAD AN UNEXPECTED DINNER WITH ANDY AND JUST GOT HOME. I TOTALLY FORGOT.
K: OH, THAT’S OKAY. I GET IT. :(
No. No. No. Not a SAD face!
I FEEL BAD, KACIE. I’M SO SORRY. LET ME MAKE IT UP TO YOU TOMORROW?
K: NO PROBLEM. I UNDERSTAND. I’M TIRED. I’M GONNA HEAD TO BED. I’LL TALK TO YOU IN THE MORNING, OKAY?
YOU’RE MAD.
K: NO, NOT AT ALL. I’M A LITTLE SAD, BUT THINGS HAPPEN. JUST DON’T FORGET ABOUT ME, ALL RIGHT?
Forget about her? Holy shit.
KACIE, I COULD NEVER FORGET ABOUT YOU.
Except for tonight. Ugh. Way to go, Murphy. You idiot.
K: IT’S FINE. I’M GONNA HEAD TO BED. I’LL CALL YOU IN THE MORNING, OKAY?
OKAY. I LOVE YOU.
K: LOVE YOU TOO! :)
I felt like a total dick and that fake smiley face kicked me right in the gut. Call me in the morning? I was going to redeem myself and do her one better.
Sleep had just about taken over when I felt myself jerk awake. I grabbed my phone off the nightstand to check the time and realized I had three missed calls and five texts. All from Brody.
B: SURPRISE. COME TO YOUR FRONT DOOR.
B: YOU GONNA COME LET ME IN OR WHAT?
B: KACIE??? DID YOU FALL ASLEEP?
B: WAKE UP! ME AND DIESEL ARE SITTING ON YOUR PORCH AND ONE OF US HAS TO PEE… BAD.
B: NEVER MIND, WE BOTH PISSED IN THE WOODS. WAKE UP! I WANT TO SEE MY GIRLFRIEND TONIGHT!
Every nerve in my body tingled with pure excitement as I jumped out of bed and flew through the house. The last text came in almost an hour ago, and by now it was completely dark outside. Slowly, I pulled the wooden door open, squinting as my eyes adjusted to the porch light. I prayed that he hadn’t decided to head back home. When I spotted him, I covered my mouth with my hand and tried to stifle my laugh.
Brody was sound asleep on the porch swing, Diesel curled into his side. He was sitting up with his hands clasped together, resting on his stomach. His head was resting on the back of the wooden swing, his mouth slightly open as he snored quietly. A bouquet of pink and purple gladiolus sat on the swing next to him. As I walked over, Diesel lifted his eyebrows and peeked up at me.
“Hey, buddy.” I reached down and scratched the soft black fur on top of his head. His tail wagged in excitement.
The thumping of his tail against the wooden swing caused Brody to shift, but not open his eyes. I walked around to the backside of the swing and stared down at him. He hadn’t shaved in a couple days and his stubble accentuated his strong jawline, framing his face perfectly. I cupped his face in my hands and brushed his cheeks with my thumbs. His stunning green eyes fluttered open, blinking in confusion.
“Why are you upside down?” he asked.
“Why are you sleeping on my porch?” I planted a gentle kiss on his lips before I walked around to the front of the swing and sat on his lap.
He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me in close. “Because you wouldn’t open the door.”
I turned in his lap and swung my leg over his so that I was straddling him. “I’m sorry. I fell asleep. What are you doing here?”
“You said, ‘Don’t forget about me.’” He shrugged. “That was like a direct challenge to prove to you that wasn’t possible, so Diesel and I jumped in my truck and here we are.”
“Don’t you have hockey in the morning?” I mumbled as I gently kissed the side of his neck, slowly inhaling the sporty smell of his cologne and tasting his skin against my tongue. A low groan climbed from deep within him, vibrating against my lips as it escaped his mouth.
“I do. I have to leave before the sun comes up, but what you just did right there makes it all worth it.”
“Just that neck kiss?” I giggled as I pulled back, looking at him. “Wow, you’re easy.”
“You have no idea.” He crashed against
my mouth, holding the back of my head with his hands. It was a feral kiss. I don’t know if he still felt he needed to prove that he wouldn’t forget about me or if he was just caught in the moment, but he claimed my mouth like an animal and I wasn’t about to fight it. I kept up with him the best I could but he was relentless, aggressively exploring my entire mouth with his warm tongue.
“Wait. We can’t do this here, not on the porch.” I pulled back. My chest was heaving, my lips tingling. His erection pressed against the inside of my thigh and I knew we both wanted the same thing, but my mom’s porch swing wasn’t the place.
“Come on.” He gently eased me off of him. My face flushed when he stood and reached into his pants, adjusting himself.
He took my hand and led me off the porch, letting go at the bottom of the stairs as he walked to his truck. Diesel followed us down the steps and sat next to me as we watched Brody dig around in his backseat for something. A few seconds later, with a blanket tucked under his arm, he grabbed my hand as he hurried past me.
“Where are we going?”
He turned his head to the side slightly, not saying a word as a sly grin tugged at the corner of his lips.
I didn’t ask again. I had a pretty good idea where he was leading me.
It was dark outside, which made the walk through the backyard difficult, especially with bare feet. I was cautious, worried that I would step in a hole or on a stick and completely kill the mood between us.
“What’s wrong?” he whispered loudly.
“Nothing. I’m trying not to step on anything,” I whispered back, not looking up at him. “I never put shoes on.”
With that he turned and scooped me up, tossing me over his shoulder.
“Put me down! What are you doing?” I giggled.
“You’re going too slow and the faster we get down there, the faster I can have you.” He growled as he slapped my butt.
We got to the beach and I waited for Brody to set me down, but he continued marching right over the sand and onto the creaky wooden pier.
“We’re going on the pier?”
He set me down gently and cocked his eyebrow at me. “Correction. Our pier.”
I tilted my head to the side and frowned at him, confused. “Our pier?”
“Yeah, it’s where we had our first dinner. Remember? As friends?” He rolled his eyes and grinned. “It was on this pier that I learned there was something incredibly special about you. It was also on this pier that I realized I am meant to have more in my life than just hockey.”
“Am I the more?” I looked up at this sexy man, in complete awe of just how lucky I was to have him.
“You’re absolutely the more.” He rubbed the pad of his thumb softly along my bottom lip. “You’re more than more.”
I caught his hand in mine and gently kissed his palm as he stared right through me.
“And right now, I’d like to have more on our pier.”
I plucked the blanket from under his arm and barely had time to open it before Brody had me on my back, his full weight on top of me, kissing me with an unapologetic neediness. We took our time, slowly kissing and savoring each other for as long as we could stand it.
He pulled back and licked his lips while he slowly studied my face. “God, I didn’t realize how much I truly missed you until I was with you again.”
“I missed you too,” I replied breathlessly as I shoved my hands up the back of his shirt, feeling his muscles roll and flex beneath my fingertips. “Don’t stop kissing me.” He clasped his lips over mine again and the spark that burned constantly between us exploded into fire. Pulling me up into a sitting position, he grabbed the waist of my tank top and lifted it over my head.
His eyes went wide as he stared down at my breasts. “Holy shit. You don’t have a bra on.”
Overcome with sudden shyness, I bit my lip and shrugged, trying to cover myself with my hands. “I was in bed. I don’t normally wear a—”
All coherent thought drained from my brain like a burst dam as Brody pushed my hands away and clamped his warm lips around my nipple. My head fell back and a moan slipped from my mouth.
His tongue moved painfully slow, making circles around my nipple until I was pushing my breast farther into his mouth, desperate for more.
“Someone’s needy tonight, huh?”
“Mmhmm.” I sighed.
He gently pulled the elastic band of my pajama pants out, just far enough to tuck his hand inside. “Let’s see just how needy you are, huh?” I don’t know if it was the crisp night air or the fact that we hadn’t seen each other in a couple days, but I felt like I was going to burst and he hadn’t even touched me yet. Desperate for the release only he could give me, I spread my legs to give him easier access.
He dipped his fingers inside my panties and made slow circles around my most sensitive spot. The faster he swirled his fingers, the faster I panted, hovering deliciously close to my orgasm.
“Wait.” I pinched my legs together, pinning his hand in between them.
“What’s wrong?” He scrunched his eyebrows in confusion.
“I’m close. Really, really close, but… I want you inside me.”
It was almost completely dark out, but I could see his lips roll into a devilish grin when what I said registered in his brain. I lay back on the blanket and in a matter of seconds, his pants were off and he had a condom on, hovering at my opening. He tucked his arm under my head like a pillow and slowly pushed his cock inside me. It normally took me a second to adjust to the feeling, but tonight I was so wet and so ready that I started grinding back against him immediately. He sensed how close I was already and pushed in and out of me with a fast, hard rhythm. With each thrust of his hips, my backside rocked against the wood boards of the pier, creating a squeaking serenade over the quiet lake. His deep, low moans tickled my ear as he grew close too.
“God, Kacie. You feel so good.” He sounded erotically pained.
My fingers scratched against his back as he moved in me faster and faster. His hands curled around my shoulders, pulling me against him as he groaned loudly. The way he sounded when he came was just what I needed to push me over the edge. I called out over and over so loud, Brody tried to cover my face with his shoulder. His body went limp, laying on top of me while we caught our breath. After a minute, he rolled off of me and propped himself up on his elbow.
“I think I was too loud.” I panted, staring up at the stars.
Leaning over and kissing my shoulder, he laughed quietly. “Uh, you were definitely vocal.”
Throwing my arm over my face, I cringed internally. “I couldn’t help it.”
“It’s our pier, I told you. It’s magical.”
In the morning, I jumped out of bed before the sun was up and headed down to the kitchen. Kacie was sitting at the island, half-asleep and curled around her coffee cup.
“Good morning.” I kissed the top of her head.
She grunted back without looking up at me.
I laughed. “Little tired today, are we?”
“Beyond.” She blew on her steaming coffee and scoffed at me. “And I’m still mad about losing my favorite tank top.”
Last night, after laying on the pier, talking for hours, and having sex one more time, we got up to get dressed and one of us realized the other one accidentally tossed her tank top in the lake after he peeled it off of her. Knowing it was her favorite one, I felt bad, but the sight of her trying to cover herself as she ran up to the house was well worth the cost of a truckload of new tank tops. Of course, I couldn’t let her sneak through the house like that. Halfway up the yard, I took my T-shirt off and put it over her head. It was about eight sizes too big and went to her knees, but she’d never looked sexier.
I poured my own cup of coffee and sat down next to her. “If it makes you feel any better, I have about thirty mosquito bites on my ass.”
She was taking a drink and nearly spit it out as she covered her mouth with her hand.
“Oh my G
od.” She tossed her head back and laughed hard once she swallowed her coffee. “Do you really?”
“Hell yeah. I was scratching all night,” I pouted.
“Awww.” She reached over and nuzzled her nose into my neck. “Want me to kiss it and make it better?”
“You’d kiss it for me?”
She pulled back and shrugged. “Sure. Why not?”
“In that case, did I say the mosquito bites were on my ass?” I raised an eyebrow at her. “What I meant was that I have mosquito bites all over my—”
“Brody!” Lucy jumped into my arms just as I was about to tell Kacie where I’d like her to plant her lips.
Kacie elbowed me in the gut as she got up to refill her coffee cup.
“Where’s my other Twinkie?”
“She doesn’t want to brush her hair, so she’s hiding in the bathroom.” She giggled.
I watched as Kacie bent over and pulled a frying pan out of the cabinet, wondering if she had any idea how truly captivating she was. She had on a long gray robe thrown over her Minnesota Wild tank top and gray pajama pants. A few stray pieces of her long copper hair had escaped the messy bun at the back of her head, making her neck look irresistible. She grinned at Lucy’s crazy babbling as she slid over to the fridge and grabbed a few eggs. Call me a pussy or a pansy or whatever you want, but this woman’s sexy simplicity drove me crazy and I didn’t care who knew it.
“Did you hear me, Brody?”
“I’m sorry, baby. What?” I looked down at Lucy.
“I said I didn’t know you were coming today.”
“You know what, I didn’t know it either.” I grabbed a banana from the fruit bowl and started peeling it for her. “I decided late last night to drive up and see you guys.”
