by Kylie Walker
Once my body finally relaxed and my legs began shaking convulsively he picked up his pace once more and after another three or four hard thrusts his body stiffened against me, he grunted and then he let go. His orgasm was long and hard too. Each time I thought he was finished he’d grunt and move into me again. After four or five minutes of that I felt his body relax into mine. He slipped an arm around my waist to keep me from collapsing to the floor and he held me against his chest for a few seconds before once again spinning me around and then pulling me into his chest. It was the most incredible sex I’ve had in five years and after resting against him for mere minutes, I was ready for more.
I didn’t even argue with him when he suggested we go back to his place. I didn’t even care when all eyes in the bar seemed to be on us as we came out of the bathroom. I even smiled for the picture that the photographer took as we stepped out of the bar. I’m sure that my hair and make-up were a mess and that would be an unfortunate photo, but I really didn’t care.
Once back at his apartment we took a shower together to get rid of the public bathroom funk. We’d missed dinner at the barbecue so we ordered a pizza and shared it with another beer and then we made our way to his bed and spent the rest of the night alternating between sleep and waking up and making love. The last time I woke up the light was streaming in through the blinds and he was still sound asleep. I kissed him softly on the side of the face. It was covered with a light stubble and I was tempted to wake him up and make love to him again. I stared at him for a long time. He was the true definition of a beautiful man and completely irresistible. I knew if I stayed in the bed I wouldn’t be able to leave him alone. I decided to get up and see if I could find some coffee.
I slipped out of the bed and pulled open the top drawer of his dresser. I found a black Metal Mulisha t-shirt and slipped it on before padding down the hall to the kitchen. As I was looking through his cabinets for the coffee I heard a beep. It sounded like my phone but I knew mine was still in the pocket of the dress laying in the floor of his bedroom. I continued looking for the coffee when I heard it beep again. I turned and saw his phone on the counter. The face of it was lit up with a text. In my defense I did tell myself it wasn’t right to look at it. I was invading his privacy and if I saw something I didn’t want to see, then I deserved it. The lecture didn’t work when it beeped a third time. I walked over to it like it was a snake and about to bite me and very delicately slipped it off the counter. The three messages were all from the same person, someone named Ana. The first one said,
“Are we still on for lunch today?” The second one said, “You got to choose last time so it’s my pick today.” And the third one made the bile rise up to the back of my throat. It said, “Oh and by the way, I love you.” My shaking hand dropped the phone back down to the counter. My chest hurt and I felt like I couldn’t breathe. He did it to me again. He sweet-talked me and charmed me and I gave in. Once more here I was feeling like an absolute fool. I suddenly had to get out of there or I was going to vomit all over his expensive Italian tile floor.
********
I turned off my phone when I got home and when Adele woke up I warned her not to answer his texts or calls. She agreed, but her mood was really subdued. I tried to pull myself out of my own self-absorbed funk and find out what happened with her and Josh but she didn’t want to talk about it. Jenny was bouncing off the walls while she got ready for her classes, talking non-stop about Colin. I didn’t tell her what Brett told me about him being a player. I just didn’t have the strength to talk about any of them. Besides, Brett didn’t seem to have any problems lying so he might just be lying about that.
I called work and asked Dr. Williams if he had time to meet with me. He told me to come in after lunch. I refused to cry over him this time, but I cycled between being numb and being angry all morning. Finally just before noon I pulled myself together enough to shower and dress and made my way to the training center. I went in the back way so that I wouldn’t have to pass the field. Not only did I not want to give Brett a chance to spew any more of his lies if he was here watching, I didn’t even want to see him. Once inside I made my way to Dr. William’s office. I ran into Pete on my way. Pete was another therapist that worked with us. He’s been here for two years and he showed me a lot when I first started.
“Hi Erica do you have appointments today?”
“No, I’m just here to talk to Dr. Williams. Pete can I ask you a question?”
“Of course.”
“Would you have an objection to taking over Brett Kinney’s rehab?”
He pulled his brows together in the middle. “Has he done something?”
“No. No, not at all. It’s just that I feel…uncomfortable with the arrangement. He’s been completely appropriate with me but there’s something about being alone in this man’s house with him while I touch and massage him…it just doesn’t feel right. I’m not sure if that makes sense.” Probably because it was a lie, but what was I going to do, tell them the truth? I slept with him twice and got played both times. That would make me look really good to my new colleagues.
“Well, I wouldn’t have a problem with it. I know they chose you for a reason though. This type of injury is more within your scope than it is mine.”
“You’ve been doing this a lot longer than me. I’m sure you’ve run into this particular injury a lot more than I have. You know your stuff Pete.”
He smiled. “Yes I do, but so do you. Like I said, I don’t have a problem with it. You can tell Dr. Williams I don’t mind switching assignments with you.” I wanted to hug him. I’d been sick all morning thinking about having to go to his apartment and face him. He would just try and lie his way out of it. I’m not sure why. Why not just tell me he doesn’t want to be exclusive? Why can’t he just be a man and tell me the truth? Hell if I know.
“Thank you so much, Pete. I’ll let you know what he says.” I went in and repeated the conversation to Dr. Williams. He surprised me by saying that he’d sent me at Don’s request but he wasn’t overly comfortable with the arrangement either. He readily agreed to Pete and I switching and even said he’d talk to Don about it. I left there feeling much better about things. I was almost to my car when I heard my name. Shit. I kept walking and I heard it again. I finally stopped and turned around in time to see Brett hobbling over in my direction. His leg brace was heavy and hard to walk in. I was just pissed enough at him to enjoy watching him suffer so I waited where I was and made him come to me.
“Erica, what’s going on?”
“Nothing. I had to meet with Dr. Williams…”
“You know what I mean. You left this morning before I woke up and your phone has been going straight to voicemail all day. Adele won’t even answer my texts so I’m sure you told her not to.”
“Adele’s a big girl. Maybe she just doesn’t want to talk to you.” I felt a stab of guilt for getting my cousin involved, but I knew when it came down to it, she would have my back.
“See that’s what I’m talking about, you’re pissed again. What did I do this time? I was sleeping so obviously you didn’t see me touching another woman.”
“I didn’t see it, no. I have to go.”
“Erica this is ridiculous. What are you going to do, wait another five years before you tell me what’s wrong?”
“Maybe, or maybe ten this time.” I pulled open my car door. In a tone I had yet to hear him use he said, “This is seriously fucked up. I’m beginning to think you like the drama.”
I opened my mouth with a retort but decided it wouldn’t do any good. I closed it and got into my car. I slammed the door closed when he started talking again. I didn’t hear what it was he said and I didn’t care. I started the car, turned on the radio and left the parking lot much faster than I should have. I was finished being played once and for all.
Chapter 13
BRETT
I was so pissed. She was like hot and cold running water. What the fuck is her
problem? I know for a fact that I didn’t do anything this time. I stood there in the parking lot and watched her leave. When she was gone I turned to go back into the training center and my phone beeped. I looked at the message. It said, “I’m at your house. Are you coming?”
Shit! I forgot about Ana. She was not going to be happy with me. “I text her back a little white lie, “Coach needed to talk to me. I’m leaving the center now, on my way. Keep lunch warm for me.”
She sent me back two eye-roll emoji’s, she knows me too well. I blew her back a kiss and a few minutes later got a text that said, “I still love you.” That at least made me smile.
“I still love you too baby. I’ll be right there.”
As I limped to my car I thought about Ana. I was really looking forward to spending some time with her. For one thing she would make me laugh and keep my mind off of Erica for a while. I wish that I could talk to her about it but that wouldn’t be appropriate at all. I made it to my apartment in fifteen minutes and as soon as I opened the door I could smell the delicious aroma of chicken. I called out to Ana. She appeared in the doorway of the kitchen wearing a little hot pink dress. Her pretty blonde hair hung straight down her back and her smile was radiant. She came towards me and threw herself into my arms. I hugged her tightly and the stress of the day…the entire week even, was instantly gone.
**
After Ana and I had lunch and she left I spent the rest of the day on mundane tasks like cleaning and laundry. It was my day off from therapy which was probably good considering my therapist was pissed off at me. After the last work-out when she was pissed I really wasn’t looking forward to another one. At least she couldn’t get out of seeing me and if she refused to talk to me she’d have to listen whether she wanted to or not. I didn’t call or text her again the rest of that day and I left Adele alone too. It wasn’t really fair to put her in the middle. I’d just talk to Erica tomorrow when she came for our appointment.
That night I dreamt about my sister. She and I used to walk down to the beach early in the mornings when we were little and watch the surfers who came out at dawn to catch a few waves. In my dream we were there again only now we were adults. She was wearing a sundress and sitting next to me in the sand with her legs folded underneath her. Her blonde hair shone in the sun like a halo. My mother used to say she didn’t know where she’d gotten all of that blonde hair, it must have been a recessive gene. Crystal used to say that everything about her was caused by a recessive gene. She was so different from the rest of us and that was what fascinated me the most about her. She never seemed to care what anyone thought of her. I found out the hard way that she cared much more deeply than any of us had ever guessed.
In the dream she asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. Dreams are weird like that, we were grown already yet the conversation was something akin to what an eleven and twelve year old might have.
“I want to be a football player, a quarterback. What do you want to be?” Crystal looked at me and I saw that she had tears in her deep blue eyes. “What’s wrong Sis?”
She shook her head and looked back out at the water. “I just want to be me when I grow up,” she said. “I want to stop pretending.”
“I don’t understand. What are you pretending?”
“I pretend about everything,” she said, “But mostly I pretend to be happy. I wonder what it would really be like to be happy.”
“You’re not happy?”
She looked at me again and one of those tears ran down her pretty face. “No Brett, I’m not happy. I feel like I’m suffocating sometimes. I just want to be free, you know?” The dream me didn’t know. I felt confused and something else, maybe afraid. I opened my mouth to ask her something else and that’s when I realized she was gone. She disappeared right before my eyes. I jumped up out of the sand and began yelling her name. “Crystal!” I yelled it over and over, running up and down the shoreline. When I woke up I was drenched in sweat again and my throat hurt. I must have been yelling for her in my sleep.
I lay there for a long time trying to calm myself down. I had to convince myself it was just a dream and then I had to re-live the real life memories that the dream conjured up. By the time I got up I’d decided to skip the coffee. I was already way too wound up. I got straight into the shower. Once I was past the dream my thoughts began to focus on Erica again. I was actually excited about seeing her. I tried to hold onto the anger I felt toward her the day before. Once again I told myself that I hadn’t done anything and she had nothing to be mad about. Today however instead of making me angry, it only made me sad. It was that stupid dream, it had set the tone for the rest of my day.
After my shower I slipped on a pair of shorts and a white t-shirt. I was ready for my coffee at that point and I’d just started the pot brewing when the doorbell rang. The look on my face must have been almost comical when I opened the door and saw Pete standing there.
“Pete…hey, what are you doing here?”
“Can I come in?”
“Oh yeah, sorry.” I stepped back to let him in. I saw his eyes go to my right leg. I didn’t have my brace on. “I just got out of the shower. I haven’t put it back on yet.”
He laughed. “You read minds now?”
“Nope but Erica gives me shit about it all the time. Speaking of Erica, where is she?”
“Well, she’s at the training center as far as I know. Dr. Williams changed our assignments. I’m afraid you’re stuck with me.”
Fuck. She asked to be taken off my case. I wonder what the hell she told them. I still wonder what the hell I did. She has to be the most frustrating woman I’ve ever encountered. “Why? I mean, no offense Pete, you and I have always worked well together. I’m just confused about the sudden switch.”
Pete started taking things out of his bag and setting up for our session as he talked. “I think it just wasn’t a comfortable situation for Erica.”
“I still don’t understand.”
“She just wasn’t comfortable working with a man in his home alone.”
I almost laughed. She calls me a liar and that’s what she told them. “Did she say I made her uncomfortable?”
“No, actually she vehemently defended you. She said you were a perfect gentleman. She just didn’t feel comfortable with the situation itself. Maybe she was just concerned about what the rest of the team would say or maybe someone already said something, you know? I really wouldn’t take it personally. Like I said, she made a big point of saying you hadn’t done anything wrong or anything to make her uncomfortable.”
I guess at least that was good to know. I’d still like to know what prompted all of this in the first place. I get that she doesn’t want to be played. I had no intentions of playing her. I really like her and she’s gorgeous and I’m more attracted to her than I have been to any other woman in my life ever. But, I can’t live with so much drama and craziness. Maybe I need to give up on her once and for all. It would be hard running into her at the training center. It would be hard running into her anywhere. I’m really good sitting here at home and telling myself to stay away from her, but the second I see her, all bets were off. I have no idea what the hell I’m going to do about this woman.
Chapter 14
ERICA
It had been a week since I saw Brett at the training center that day. I wish I could say that it got easier every day, but it didn’t. I crave him like a smoker craves a cigarette or an opiate addict craves heroin. He was my first thought in the morning and my last one at night. I think about him at least a hundred times every day and I have to wonder, “Why am I not enough?” Adele insists that where cheaters or serial daters are concerned, it’s not about being enough or not. It’s about their ego and having more than one woman at a time is a way for them to stroke it. I wanted to believe her. I’ve always had a good self-esteem and I’m not going to let some narcissist take that away from me.
I didn’t have any appointments today so Dr. Wil
liams sent me home early and put me on-call in case he needed me. I used the day to run errands and clean the apartment. I even made dinner so when Adele and Jenny got home we could eat together. I was feeling pretty good. I’d gotten through the week without running into Brett and he’d finally stopped texting and calling. As I was dropping pasta into the boiling water on the stove my phone rang and my first thought was, I spoke too soon. I dried my hands and walked over to where it lay on the counter. When I saw who it was I smiled and picked it up.
“Well hello there brother of mine.” Jordan can always cheer me up no matter what.
“Hello beautiful sister. How are you?”
“Eh, I’m okay. How about you?”
“Huh uh, that was an, I need to talk to my big brother, Eh.”
I laughed. “Oh was it?”
“Absolutely. As a matter of fact I’m getting in my car right now. I’ll be there in a couple of hours.”
“You better not be here in an hour mister! I’m fine, really. You definitely don’t have to drive for three hours tonight.”
“Too late, I’m already on the road.”
“Oh my God, really?”
“Really, you lucky girl. I just left Vegas though so it will be around eight or nine before I roll into town. I’m meeting some friends at La Hacienda, do you know it?”
I almost groaned out loud, but I didn’t want Jordan asking any more questions. “Yeah, I do actually.”
“Great! Meet me there.”
“Oh Jordy, I made dinner and I’m not dressed and…”
