Unbroken Promises: a friends to lovers romance

by Nikki Ash

  After changing into my sweats, I throw my dirty clothes into the hamper, take a leak and brush my teeth, then lay down to watch some television. It’s the first time since Zoey and I have moved in here that Xander is spending the night away from us. He had to head out of town for a photoshoot for some commercial, and of course he offered to take us along, but I told him it would be best if we stay here so he can focus on what he needs to do. It’s only an overnight trip, so it’s a waste to pack up Zoey and drag her along just to come back the next day. Right now, however, I’m kind of regretting not going. He’s only been gone for eighteen hours, and I’m already missing him. Guess I better get used to it, though. Once basketball season starts, he’ll be gone for weeks at a time, and we won’t have the option of tagging along. Just as I’m about to plug my phone into the charger, it dings with an incoming text.

  Xander: Are you awake?

  Me: No

  Xander: Fucking smartass

  I chuckle and begin to type a reply, when the phone lights up indicating that Xander is video calling me. I hit accept, and a few seconds later, his sexy mug comes across the screen. I can tell right off the bat, he’s shirtless and lying in bed.

  “Hey.” His voice is gravelly, and his eyes look tired, but there’s a hint of a smile.

  “Hey,” I say back. “How was the shoot?”

  “Long and boring.” He sighs, losing that bit of a smile he had a moment ago. “I miss you and Zoey.”

  “We miss you too.”

  “Has she already had her last bottle of the night?”

  “Yeah, she’s out for the count.”

  “Damn.” He frowns. “I was hoping to say goodnight.” The sad look he’s sporting has me feeling all kinds of guilty for not going with him when he asked. Our time is limited until the season starts. I just couldn’t bring myself to go.

  “I’m sure she’ll be up bright and early. You can call back then and talk to her while I sleep in,” I joke, trying to lighten the mood, but Xander doesn’t even crack a smile.

  “Hey,” I say. “You’re going to be home tomorrow.”

  “I know.” He nods solemnly. “I just don’t like this.”

  “Well, I don’t either, but it’s something we’re going to have to get used to, Mr. NBA.” When his frown deepens, an idea pops into my head. “But there are things we can do to make the days you’re away not feel so...long and painful.”

  He raises his brows in curiosity. “And what is that?”

  To answer his question, I ask one of my own. “What are you wearing?” At first, his brows furrow in confusion, but I can tell the moment he catches on, because he lets out a soft chuckle followed by a small knowing grin.

  “I’m in my boxers,” he answers. “You?”

  “Sweats.”

  We’re both quiet for a moment, before Xander says, “It always seems way hotter in the movies when someone initiates phone sex.” We both laugh.

  “That’s probably because it’s always a woman describing her tiny bra and panties,” I joke, and Xander nods in agreement. “You could always take off your boxers,” I add. Xander’s eyes widen, then he shuffles around, the phone going blurry for a second before he’s back on the screen. Only it’s not his face I’m looking at, but his semi-hard cock that he’s now slowly stroking.

  “Jesus,” I groan. “Have I mentioned that I really fucking miss you?”

  “Yeah,” Xander murmurs, “and what would you do if I was there?” I grin at the cliché phone sex question but love that he’s going along with it.

  “Well, for one, you wouldn’t be stroking your own dick; I would be doing it for you with my mouth.” Xander lets out a low groan, and I continue. “First, I’d lick my tongue across the crown of your cock so I could have a taste of your precum.” Xander’s thumb swipes across the head and it glistens with the same precum I was just talking about.

  “Cole, I want to see you,” Xander says. Too fixated on his hard dick, I forgot he’s still looking at my face. I push my sweatpants down, and my dick springs free. Then I press the button on the phone to flip the camera, and on the screen there’s now two hard cocks. My hand comes down to stroke my own, and Xander’s hand fists his tighter.

  “What would you do next?” Xander asks, his voice husky and turned on.

  “I would move down to your balls, licking and sucking on them, taking them into my mouth. I would lick up the underside of your dick until I hit the top again, and then take you all the way into my mouth until your big fucking dick hits the back of my throat.”

  “Fuck, Cole,” Xander groans. His fist tightens around his cock, and his jerks get faster. “I want your mouth on me so bad.”

  “Once your dick hits the back of my throat,” I say, continuing where I left off, “your hands would come down to the back of my head, and you would take control. Pushing my head up and down over your cock, fucking my mouth until you come down my throat.” The vision of Xander forcing me to take him in and out of my mouth has my dick twitching. My fist clenches around my hard as steel dick, and my stroking picks up.

  “Fuck yes, I love to watch you suck me off,” Xander murmurs. “But there’s no way I would be coming in your mouth. I would pull out, and turn you around, lubing the fuck out of your ass and sticking my dick right into it.”

  “Oh fuck.” It’s my turn to moan out loud at the thought of Xander ramming his dick into my ass. “Fuck my ass hard, man,” I groan, needing more, needing him here with me. My strokes are getting more frantic and so are Xander’s. It’s not the same thing as him being here, but the fact that we’re doing it together, watching each other, is a fucking turn on.

  “I am. Stroke your cock. Come all over the bed while I come in your tight fucking hole.” Xander’s words turn breathy as he strokes himself harder and faster, and then he’s coming all over his hand and stomach. The sight of his milky white seed alone has my orgasm following right behind his—warm liquid hitting my stomach.

  We both sit here for a good minute, our dicks softening and our breathing labored like we actually had sex, before Xander turns the camera around to his face. He waits a second for me to do the same before he speaks. “When I get home, I’m going to fuck the ever loving shit out of you. My fist has nothing on your ass.” I chuckle at the seriousness in his voice.

  “You better get used to that fist, because you’re going to be gone for weeks at a time.” My words are meant as a joke, but Xander frowns.

  “You don’t think I would ever cheat on you, do you?”

  “No, I didn’t say anything about you cheating. I said you better get used to doing it yourself.” But now that he’s mentioned it, the reality of our situation is front and center in my head. Xander is a professional athlete. During basketball season, he’ll be gone more than he’s home. We barely lasted eighteen hours before resorting to phone sex.

  “Cole, I see those wheels in your head turning. Pull the fucking brakes right now,” Xander demands. “I went three fucking years without having sex. Unless...” His brows furrow. “Are you thinking about yourself?” he questions.

  “What? No, I wasn’t. I was thinking about you, but you’re right. We both can’t be thinking like this. This is your job, and you love it. We can’t let a few weeks of you being away during the season fuck with us.”

  Xander nods in agreement. “It just means once I am home, we double up on the sex.” He grins wide, and I laugh.

  “I better go get cleaned up.”

  “Yeah, same. Give Zoey a kiss for me in the morning, and I’ll be home tomorrow night.”

  “Will do, good night.”

  “Good night.”

  The sound of Zoey’s soft cries through the baby monitor has me opening my eyes. When I press the button on the phone to see the time, I notice there’s a text from Xander. He must have sent it after I fell asleep.

  Xander: Be ready for 8 p.m. I’m taking an earlier flight and taking you out. Kacey will be there at 7:45 to watch Zoey. And before you freak out, we won�
��t be in public. See you tonight.

  I grin at his text and type back that I’ll see him later and to have a safe flight. Then I get up, throw on a t-shirt, and begin my day with my beautiful daughter who is more than ready for her morning bottle.

  We spend the day mostly inside, aside from our daily jog around the trail that runs behind the complex. Zoey eats, naps, and plays like she does every day. She’s growing way too quickly for my liking. It’s crazy to think about the fact that in a couple weeks my daughter will be five months old. I give her a bath, which she loves, giggling when I splash the bubbles and squeak the bath toys.

  When 7:00 rolls around, I shower, shave, and get dressed. I feed Zoey, and I’m putting her in her swing when Kacey’s voice comes over the intercom letting me know she’s downstairs. I buzz her in and open the door, grabbing my cell phone and keys and giving Zoey one last kiss. I haven’t heard from Xander, and I’d assumed I’m meeting him downstairs at 8 o’clock, so when I hear a masculine voice as opposed to Kacey’s feminine one, I startle and turn around.

  And standing in the doorway next to Kacey is none other than Xander, looking sexy as fuck in his black polo shirt and denim jeans. He has an Astros ball cap covering his head, and he’s sporting some serious scruff that only adds to his sex appeal. He smirks knowingly, and I clear my throat in an attempt to compose myself. If I had it my way, we would send Kacey home and spend the evening in bed.

  “Not happening.” Xander laughs, knowing exactly what I’m thinking. “Let’s go.” He turns to Kacey. “We’ll be home by midnight. Thank you.”

  “She just ate,” I tell Kacey, and she smiles.

  “Sounds good. Have a good evening. We’ll be here when you get home.”

  We take the elevator down to the underground parking garage, and waiting for us is a town car.

  “You’re not driving?” I ask, sliding into the backseat.

  “No, I didn’t want to take a chance of anyone spotting us.” Xander leans over and gives me a kiss. I glance toward the driver and see the privacy partition is up. “The windows are blacked out too. Nobody can see us, I promise,” Xander murmurs against my mouth before deepening the kiss.

  I’m so caught up in him that I don’t ask where we’re going or what we’re doing. When he breaks the kiss, I realize the car has stopped. Looking around, I spot the back of a building, but I’m not sure what it’s to. The driver opens the door, and Xander and I get out. He guides us toward a backdoor. It opens and Ciara nods with a grin.

  “You owe me,” is all she says before opening the door farther and granting us access. “Second door on your right. Everything is set up.”

  “Thank you.” Xander kisses her on the cheek, and Ciara rolls her eyes.

  “You’re welcome. Once you’re done, just call the driver so he knows to return, and make sure you exit out this door.”

  We head down the hallway, but I have no clue where the hell we are. That is until I spot several movie posters along the walls. “Are you taking me to the movies?” I ask.

  “Yep.” Xander takes my hand in his, and my eyes dart around for anybody who might see the sweet gesture. “Nobody is here but us, so stop worrying.”

  We enter the door Ciara mentioned, and inside is a full size movie theater with previews playing on the screen. We walk up the steps until we reach the middle of the theater. And that’s when I see a table full of food: boxes of candy, popcorn, nachos, two large drinks, and tons of other stuff.

  “You did all this?” I ask in awe.

  “It’s our first date.” Xander shrugs. “Doesn’t everyone have their first date at the movies?” For us to be the only people here means he went through the trouble of renting out the entire theater just to take me on a date. And he did it because I’m not ready for us to go public yet.

  We both grab a drink, some candy and popcorn, then make our way to the middle seats just as the previews end and the lights turn down, indicating the movie is about to start.

  Not able to stand another second without touching him, I pull his face towards mine for a kiss, not giving two shits about whatever it is that he’s picked for us to watch. The only thing I care about right now is showing Xander how much him doing this tonight means to me.

  And just like anytime Xander and I kiss, things quickly heat up, and before the opening lines of the movie are even spoken, I’m flipping the arm rest up and undoing his pants. I’m almost positive the tub of popcorn hits the floor, but I don’t give a fuck. My lips wrap around the head of his cock, and my mouth moves down his hard length, inch by delicious inch, until I’m swallowing as much of him as I can down my throat. My nose grazes against Xander’s neatly trimmed curls, and I can’t help but inhale his musky scent. Xander lets out a low groan, but doesn’t move a muscle as I begin to bob my head up and down over him. It doesn’t take long before his hips begin to buck frantically as he drives his cock in and out of my mouth, meeting me thrust for thrust. My saliva drips down his dick as he fucks my mouth until he comes down my throat. Once I’ve sucked him clean, I sit up and wipe the spit from my lips while he tucks himself back into his pants.

  “In case I didn’t make it clear.” I chuckle. “Thank you for tonight.”

  Xander throws his head back with a laugh. “If that’s how all our dates are going to begin, you better believe I’m going to be taking you out often.”

  We spend the next couple hours eating way too much junk food, making out, somewhat watching the movie, and talking about random shit. The night is absolutely fucking perfect. When the credits come up, I’m sad that the night is coming to an end, and I think Xander is too, because he says, “We can do this again. Hell, next time I can rent the theatre for two movies.” He chuckles, but I frown. If I wasn’t so hellbent on keeping us a secret, we would be able to go out whenever we wanted. Here he is going out of his way to show me how much this relationship means to him, and in return, I’m forcing us to hide.

  “Thank you again for doing this.”

  “Of course.” He smiles. “It’s what boyfriends do.” He shoots me a playful wink before he shows me with his hot, wet, talented mouth what else boyfriends do.

  chapter fifty

  Xander

  I’m sticky and sweaty and sore as fuck, and I can’t wait to take a hot shower and change out of my workout clothes. I considered rinsing off at the stadium but then figured if I waited until I got home, I might be able to convince Cole to join me. Training camp doesn’t start for another month and a half, but I always start getting back into my routine weeks beforehand. That includes working out twice a day and eating only what’s on my diet. My body is my vessel, and if I don’t fuel it properly, it won’t perform like I need it to.

  When I unlock the front door, I immediately notice that it’s dark and quiet. When you live with an infant, it’s almost never quiet. I’m about to flick on a light when I spot several lit candles on the table and countertops.

  “Cole?” I call out, but he doesn’t answer. I walk into the kitchen and see aluminum covered dishes on the stove. It smells like Italian, and my stomach grumbles.

  “Hey, you’re back early.” Cole pads into the kitchen in nothing but a pair of sweats hanging low on his hips. His hair is still damp, which means he’s just showered. Damn it. He gives me a chaste kiss then backs up slightly. “I made us dinner, but you stink. Why don’t you shower while I finish heating the side dishes up, and then we can eat.”

  “You cooked?” I ask stunned because Cole doesn’t cook...hell, Cole can’t cook.

  “Well, sort of.” He chuckles softly. “I had your chef make it all and bring it over so all I would have to do is heat it up. Technically that means I made it.” He shrugs with a big grin splayed across his face.

  “Where’s Zoey?” It’s only five o’clock, so there’s no way she’s already down for the night.

  “Joanne and John had to come into town for a business meeting. They asked if they could take Zoey for the night.” He waggles his eyebrows, and I laugh.
“She’ll be home in the morning.”

  Grabbing the drawstrings to his pants, I pull him towards me until our bodies are almost flush. “Does that mean what I think it means?”

  “A full twelve hours of sleep?” he deadpans. “Yes, it does.”

  I bark out a loud laugh. “Funny. More like a full twelve hours of me fucking you.”

  “More like six. The other six I’ll be fucking you.” He kisses me then starts to walk toward the stove. “But first you need to shower.” He smacks my ass. “Now.”

  “I was hoping you would join me,” I grumble. “It’s the whole reason why I’m still all sweaty.”

  “I already took one.” He laughs, shaking his head as he places a pan into the oven.

  “Okay, then how about I dirty you up, then you can shower with me.” I come up behind him and snake my arm around his waist, my hand running down his muscular torso and landing on the bulge in his pants. He lets out a low moan, and I know I have him.

  “Fine, but we only have thirty minutes.” He turns around. “That’s how long the chicken will take to bake in the oven.”

  “Thirty minutes? I’m going to need way more time to do all the things I want to do to you. I’ll take a quick shower while you...fake bake our dinner, and once we’re done eating, we’ll have all night.” I cage Cole in my arms and give him a chaste kiss on his lips before I head out of the kitchen.

  “I’m not fake baking!” he yells. “The oven is really on!”

  “You’re warming shit up!” I shout back through my laughter. “That doesn’t fucking count.”

  After taking a quick shower, I meet Cole back in the dining room where he has everything set up for dinner. The food smells delicious, and I love that he called my chef to prepare it, knowing I’m back to eating healthy. We eat our chicken and salad while talking about our day, and it all feels so domestic, like something you see couples doing in the movies. Before Cole and Zoey moved in, it was just me. Sure, sometimes after practice, I would meet some of my teammates for dinner, but most of them are either married or seeing someone. And the ones who are single, are usually going out to find someone to hook up with. And since that wasn’t something I was interested in doing, most of the time I found myself alone in my empty condo. At the time, I thought I was okay with that, but now that I know what it’s like to have my home full of baby bottles and toys and swings, my bedroom littered with Cole’s clothes, and my kitchen filled with junk food, I can’t imagine it any other way. The truth is I’m dreading the season starting. The nights alone in the hotel rooms while I’m on the road for days at a time. I’ve gotten so used to sharing a bed with Cole. To Zoey’s babbling in the early morning. I don’t know how I’m going to go days without seeing them.