Only One Chance

by Madison, Natasha

  I look right and left and then down. “I do. I just never really paid attention or thought twice about it.”

  “That’s because you were single,” Ralph says. “It’s a different ball game when you are with someone, and you have to take their feelings into consideration.”

  “I am single,” I tell them, and they both laugh.

  “Don’t be an idiot,” Manning says. “Layla is the best.”

  I glare at him, and my hands clench into fists. “Aren’t you not available?” He laughs and shakes his head.

  “You have to say you’re sorry,” Ralph says.

  “What if she slams the door in my face?” I ask them, and they both shrug.

  “What if she doesn’t?” Manning says and walks ahead of me to get onto the plane, leaving me in the middle of the steps with people walking around me.

  “What if she doesn’t?” I repeat to myself and make a plan to go and give it one last shot.

  Chapter 21

  Layla

  I open the shades leading out to the backyard. The bright sun shines in right away, making me close one eye. “Too bright to start the day,” I grumble, walking to start my coffee while I turn on the television, and the sound of SportsCenter plays. I turn my attention to the television when they bring up the game yesterday against Edmonton.

  “Someone has lit a fire under Adams’s skates because he is having the week of his life,” one of the broadcasters says of Miller, and I have to agree. He is on fire. He scored a goal in every game along with an assist. He was named player of the game for the past two games.

  “I guess he’s handling the breakup better than you,” I say to myself and then shake my head. “Breakup? You need to date someone in order to break up with them.”

  I watch another play that happened last night, and I couldn’t agree with them more. “He is on fucking fire.” The play shows his skating into the zone, leaving the puck so fast no one sees that it’s not on his blade anymore when Ralph picks it up and shoots it five hole. “Cocky Adams, very, very cocky.”

  I hear a knock on the door and lower the volume of the television, waiting to see if perhaps I was mistaken, but the knock comes again. I look at the clock on the wall and see that it’s just a little past nine thirty in the morning. “Who on earth,” I say, walking to the door and unlocking it.

  My heart speeds up when I see it’s him. It’s not like I haven’t seen him in the past week. I’ve seen him when I was watching the game. I might have even taped the games and then rewound when I knew he was going to be on. But now he’s standing there in front of me wearing jeans and a T-shirt with a leather jacket. His aviator glasses hide his eyes. I made myself bury the hurt that I felt all week. I forced myself to literally wash him out of my hair, but now here he is, and I’ll be damned if I admit that I’m happy to see him. I don’t even know why I feel like this since the last time I saw him, I was telling him how I didn’t like half of him.

  “Good morning,” he says, his smirk coming out. “I brought you coffee,” he says, holding up two cups of coffee. I didn’t even see them in his hands because I was trying to get my heart to beat properly and my breathing to slow from panting.

  “Um,” I say, trying to sound smooth, but my mouth is so dry I can’t even swallow.

  “You look nice,” he says with a smile, and all I can do is stand here holding the door handle. “Can I come in?” He smirks now again. I move aside so he can walk in, not sure I can talk without stuttering. “It’s good to see you, gorgeous,” he says, stopping beside me and leaning down to kiss the corner of my mouth.

  I close the door, turning to see him walking into the house. “What are you doing here?” I ask him when I finally get my words to come back to me. “I mean, why are you here?”

  “I’m here to bring you coffee,” he tells me. “And because I missed you.”

  “Miller.” I say his name.

  “Did you miss me?” he asks, and I just look at him. “Honestly.”

  I fold my arms over my chest. “I mean, I saw you at least four nights.”

  He laughs now. “I heard your voice every day.” My stomach gets a little flutter. “Listen, about what you said,” he says as he puts the coffees down on the counter. “You were right.”

  My mouth hangs open, and my heart that never really got to a normal heartbeat since I opened the door speeds up even more. My palms feel sweaty, so I rub them together. “What was I right about?”

  “You were right about the way I acted in front of you,” he says, and I cross my arms over my chest to keep them from shaking. “The way I act with fans in general, especially women.” I look at him and tilt my head to the side. “I didn’t get it until …”

  “Until?” I ask, waiting for him to continue.

  “Until I spoke with the guys about it,” he says, and I now laugh.

  “Which guys exactly did you talk to about this?” I ask, suddenly wondering who he would even discuss this with.

  “Ralph and Manning.” He smiles shyly. “It was bothering me.” His voice goes lower when he says the next sentence. “And I was in a really shitty mood. I landed in Edmonton and didn’t have a coat.”

  “It’s winter,” I tell him, and he rolls his eyes at me.

  “Trust me, I’m aware. My balls froze and shriveled up,” he says. “But anyway, I realized that how I acted with them was not okay, and it was inappropriate.” I just listen to him, not wanting to smile too big. “I’ve been watching my every move.”

  “I don’t want you to change,” I tell him.

  “I’m not changing for you,” he tells me. “I’m changing for me. I don’t want to be that guy,” he says. I can see he’s nervous, so I get up and go to him. Standing in front of him, I can smell his aftershave. “I want to be the one who flirts with only you.” He smirks at me. “I want to be the one who sends naughty pictures only to you.” I laugh, shaking my head.

  “How about we refrain from sending any dirty pictures?” I joke, but his face doesn’t turn up into the smile I want to see.

  He still looks at me, his face showing me that he isn’t joking about this. “I want to be with you.” He comes closer, his voice going really low. “And only you.” I look down and then look up again, and he tucks the hair behind my ear. “And I never want you to doubt that.” He uses his thumbs to rub my cheeks. “You never have to doubt your worth with me, gorgeous.” He uses the nickname I’ve come to love. “Because, to me, you are worth everything.”

  “Smooth,” I say, trying to make light of what just happened. My feet move on their own as I step closer to him. “Very smooth, Adams.” My hands go to his waist. “Very smooth.”

  “I’m going to kiss you,” he says. “I know that I wanted you to beg for it. But …” His head moves closer to me.

  “Please.” My voice comes out almost cracking. “Kiss me.”

  His hands never leave from my face, and he moves them to cup my cheeks. “I don’t know why,” he says and chuckles, “but I’m so fucking nervous.” My stomach does flips, knowing that he’s just as nervous as I am. “Here goes nothing,” he says, and he closes the distance between us. I close my eyes right before his lips fall on mine.

  His tongue slowly comes out, and I think I sigh when it touches my lips. My mouth opens for his tongue, and the second his tongue touches mine, my back arches into him. My hands squeeze his jacket into my fists. His tongue goes around with mine. His hands move from my face to my hair now as he turns his head, going to the other side. The kiss is soft at first as our tongues get to know each other, and after a couple of minutes, I step closer to him and press my front to him. My hands move from his waist and his jacket to around his neck. His hand drops from my head to my neck, his thumbs holding my chin. He lets go of my lips, and I groan, wanting his lips back.

  Slowly opening my eyes, I feel almost in a daze. His lips move from the corner of my lips to my cheek and then down to my jaw. “Miller.” I whisper his name, not sure if I’m going to ask him somet
hing or not. His tongue traces my jaw, and my head falls back to give him better access as my eyes close.

  “I always knew,” he says, coming back and taking my mouth again. This time, my mouth opens for him, and my tongue is waiting. He twirls his tongue around mine twice, then kisses my lips softly. “That kissing you would be out of this world,” he says, his voice low as he takes my lips again. “I just never thought that it would be like fireworks at Disney.”

  I laugh, putting my head back, and he takes this chance to lean forward and kiss my throat.

  “Fireworks at Disney?” I make fun of him.

  “What?” he says, looking at me. His eyes are a soft amber color. “Whenever something amazing happens, they ask you what are you going to do now?” His hands go to my waist. “And every single time, it’s I’m going to Disney. Well, you are my Disney.”

  My hand moves to his face, and I touch him for the first time, rubbing my thumb along his bottom lip. “I’ll take it,” I guess. “I can’t believe you’re here.”

  “I can’t believe you didn’t slam the door in my face,” he says, laughing. “Now, can we go out for breakfast?” He looks at me. “Or lunch?”

  I look at him, and I take the biggest leap I have in a long time. “I’d love to go to brunch with you.”

  “You can’t go out like this,” he says, looking down at my shorts and tank top.

  “Fine,” I say, grabbing the coffee and then walking back to my room. “Do you want to come and watch?” I ask, and his eyes go wide. “I don’t mean me getting naked.” He frowns now. “I mean, come and choose my outfit.”

  He nods, and I wait for him to walk beside me. He puts his arm around my shoulder as we walk back to the bedroom. “Welcome to my bedroom,” I say, and he whistles when he walks in. “You can sit on the couch.” I point at the loveseat right in front of the king-size bed.

  “What if I wanted to lie on the bed and smell your pillow?” He winks at me.

  “You can lie on the bed, just don’t put your shoes on the bed,” I tell him and walk away as he watches me.

  “I won’t put my shoes on the bed,” he says, and I look over my shoulder. “But one of these days, my shoes are going to be under this bed,” he says, throwing my cover over to sit on it as I swallow around the lump in my throat. He plops down on the bed, grabbing a couple of pillows to prop behind his head. “Now, start the fashion show.”

  Chapter 22

  Miller

  Sitting on her bed, I swear she can hear the sound of my heart hammering in my chest. It echoes in my ears. The team opted to fly through the night to get home a day early, so I crawled into bed at five a.m., setting my alarm for eight, knowing I was going to try to get her to talk to me.

  Showing up with the coffee was a chance I took. I didn’t set my hopes high. In fact, I thought she would slam the door in my face. When she opened the door, I almost forgot everything that I planned to tell her. The sleep was still in her eyes, and her hair piled and flipped to the side. I poured my heart out to her and held my breath while I waited for her to either kick me out or take another chance with me.

  Now I’m in her bedroom waiting for her to get changed. I look around the white bedroom at the gold light hanging in the middle of the room. The king-size bed has a white duvet, and a gray quilt is folded by the foot. My eyes move to her white and gray nightstand that holds a single gold lamp with a white shade, and a picture of two people holding a baby. “Where are we going?” she asks from her closet.

  “Wherever you want to,” I say to her as she walks out wearing black jeans and a white shirt. “What happened to my fashion show?” I put my hands behind my head. “First, you had to start with the lingerie.”

  She throws her head back and laughs. “Nice try there.” She goes to her bathroom, and I get up to follow her. She stands by the sinks, grabbing her toothbrush, and looks into the mirror at me. “Are you going to watch?”

  “Does that bother you?” I lean against the doorframe. “Voyeurism.”

  “Are you asking me if it bothers me that you are watching me brush my teeth?” She turns to lean against the counter. “Or are you asking me to have sex with someone in front of you?”

  I glare at her. “I don’t share what’s mine.” I put my hand in my pocket. “I failed that in kindergarten,” I tell her, and she turns back around to brush her teeth. “After only one month, they called my parents in and said I had trouble sharing.”

  She stops brushing. “You’re kidding.”

  I shake my head. “I’m not. This whole sharing is caring is bullshit. I have mine, get your own was what I said.”

  She rinses off her toothbrush, wiping her lips with a hand towel. “Well, good to know,” she says, stopping in front of me. “I don’t share my toys, either.”

  “Are your toys in the top drawer of that side table?” I wink at her, and she laughs.

  “I have too many to fit in that little drawer,” she says, getting closer to me and kissing my lips. I grab her hip, bringing her to me. My cock springs into action as her tongue slips into my mouth, and I want to drag her back into her bedroom and throw her on the bed. She lets go of my lips. “My treasure chest is under the bed.” She walks back into her closet, and I think she is going to bring out the chest and show me, but instead, she comes out with a plaid scarf wrapped around her neck, carrying her leather jacket in her hand.

  “A treasure chest?” I ask as she slips on the jacket and then the black ballerina shoes that she had beside her closet door. “Is it like a big chest?”

  “It’s about this big.” She shows me with her hands, and my eyes go big. “Big enough for me.” She winks at me and then looks down to see my cock pressing against the fly of my jeans. “Is that going to be a problem?” she asks, pointing at my hard-on.

  “Do you want to go and take care of that before we leave?” She rolls her lips together. “I can talk you through it.” She laughs now.

  “Laugh all you want now,” I tell her, “but one of these days, we’re going to do a whole show and tell with that chest of yours.” I walk to her and bend to suck on her neck. “And I’ll be the one talking you through it.” She swallows now, and I try to ignore the pressure from my jeans. “Now, let’s go before I do something that we are not ready for,” I say, smacking her ass as I walk by it. “Fuck, I’ve waited four years to do that.”

  Shaking her head, she walks beside me out of the house. I open the car door for her, and she stops in front of me. Getting on her tippy toes, she kisses under my jaw at the same time her hand cups my cock. “I’ve been waiting four years to see what you do kiss me willingly” She winks at me, and I close the door, blocking out her laughter. I look up at the sky and close my eyes, counting to ten, but nothing helps me. She knocks on the window. “Are you going to be much longer?” She rolls her lips, trying not to laugh.

  I walk around the car and get in, slamming the door. “That mouth of yours,” I say, starting the car, “is going to get you in a lot of trouble.”

  “Promise?” She leans over and kisses my lips, slipping her tongue into my mouth. She lets me go a second later and goes back to her seat. “It’s just as good as it was inside.”

  “Fireworks at Disney,” I say, putting my glasses on. I make my way over to one of the hottest spots in Dallas. When we pull up, the valet opens the passenger door for Layla, and I get out, walking around to grab her hand in mine. “Is this okay?” I ask, and she nods her head. We walk in, and the hostess smiles at me. I nod to her. “A table for two please.” She grabs two menus, and we walk into the dining room but see that most of the tables are taken. “Are there any tables outside?” She nods her head and walks outside to the almost empty dining area. “Can we have that table in the corner?” I ask, and she walks over to it. I grab the seat for Layla to sit down and then walk around to sit in front of her. She hands Layla a menu and then hands me mine. I open the menu, my stomach now growling. “I’m starving.”

  “Me, too,” Layla says as she looks
around. “Incoming,” she says, and two kids walk up to us.

  “Sorry to bother you,” the little boy says, “but can we get a picture with you?”

  I look at Layla, who smiles at them. “Sure,” I say and get up to crouch down. “Do you guys play hockey?” They both nod their heads.

  “I can take the picture,” Layla says, getting up and grabbing the phone from one of them. “Smile,” she says and takes the picture. The kids walk away, saying how cool it was.

  We order the food, and I talk to her about her week. We eat without being interrupted, and I hold her hand as we leave.

  We stand here waiting for the car, and it happens. I knew it was going to happen when I walked through the dining room and saw a table of girls in the corner , and then the finger-pointing started. “Hi, can we get a picture?” the girl asks, and I just nod at her.

  “Sure,” I say, leaning my head into her and smiling.

  “Thank you,” she says, and I nod at her and then look at Layla.

  “Manning taught me that,” I say, pointing. “The whole lean in with your head thing.”

  “Did he?” she says, trying not to laugh. “I’m sure, after a while, it will look much better and less like you are afraid of women.”

  “It does not look like I’m afraid of women,” I say, almost huffing out. “Okay, fine, I’m a bit stiff.” I open the car door for her when the valet stops the car.

  “Thank you,” she says and then waits before she gets into the car. “For taking my feelings into consideration.” The wind blows her hair across her face.

  “Thank you,” I say, bending down and kissing her lips. “For not throwing the coffee in my face.” She laughs now. “Do you want to go back to my house and see if we can get some fireworks going?”

  I kiss her lips. “I have a firework in my pants that wants to go off,” I tell her. She pushes me away from her, then gets into the car. I get into the car and hold her hand as I make my way to her house. We walk into the house together, and the minute the door closes behind me, she is the one who is on me. As she pushes me against the wall, my hands fly to her ass, bringing her to me, and in the entryway, I attack her mouth. Her hands are all over me, my hands cupping her ass to pick her up as she wraps her legs around my waist, and I turn to put her back against the wall. Her pussy rubs my cock over our clothes, and both of us let each other go to moan. I look at her as her eyes flicker open. “I can’t think when I’m around you,” I tell her. I kiss her neck and then take off the scarf. “I have to woo you.”