Sliding (The Stone Series)

by Kitty Berry

  I grab a pair of blue sweats and a t-shirt from his bag and wait for him to come out of the bathroom. When he does I brush my hand over his arm as I walk past him into the bathroom. I clean up and change into his sweatpants and when I come back out into the room I find him in bed wearing sweats and no shirt. He pulls back the covers inviting me into bed and I climb in next to him. “Tonight She Comes” by the Cars is so appropriately playing on the radio and when I look at him he starts laughing.

  “I didn’t plan that you know and I love the way you look in my clothes, I plan on never washing them again” Tate laughs again about the irony of the music.

  I kiss him on the lips; I put my head on his chest and fall asleep while I listen to his heart beating in rhythm with mine.

  It’s the start of sophomore year and I still think high school sucks. I hate that the older guys are so much bigger and stronger than I am. They have facial hair and look like men. I work out all the time and I can’t get muscles like they have. All the girls are into the older guys and act like us underclassmen are losers. But the older guys are all over the younger girls. I can’t stand thinking about one of them trying to get Brook to fuck them. It makes me so mad to think about it that I go into my basement and beat the shit out of my punching bag. If she doesn’t lose her virginity to me I swear to God I will kill her and the guy she gives it up to.

  Bobby and I go to Eric again, we need help and information about sex. We start by asking him to tell us about third base. He leaves the room and comes back in a few minutes later carrying three apples with the cores cut out of them to give us a lesson on getting to third base.

  I’m the starting running back on the JV football team, even though I should be playing Varsity. I’m stuck on JV because of my fucking size; if I was built more I’d be on Varsity. I am seriously considering going on roids to get bigger, I’m just afraid of what they’ll do to my balls.

  The Varsity football team makes the state championship and I am so fucking pissed that I won’t be playing. Then at practice Steve, the Varsity running back gets a concussion and they call me up to back up the next in line in the State game. I doubt I’ll even play; I’ll probably just suit up and sit on the bench looking like a loser the whole game. But it will seal my spot on Varsity for next year if I play and play well. The more I think about it the more nervous I get. I start sweating and puking like a pussy thinking for the first time that maybe I’ll blow my shot.

  Danny tells me we’ll be rooming together and he wants to sleep with Wendy the night after the game so he tells me that Brook and I are going to hook up and share a room that night so he and Wendy can be alone.

  “You are fucking her anyway, right? So it will work out for all of us” Danny says. I don’t answer either way and he lets it go. I know I shouldn’t let him think that Brook and I have done something we haven’t but I don’t want to look like a pussy.

  I am nervous all day at school and I can barely eat at lunch. After I do eat I go into the bathroom and puke out my guts. After school when I go home to get ready I try to calm down and focus on the game but nothing is working. I try breathing slowly, counting to five hundred and doing sit ups and pushups. When I get on the bus I sit with Brook and just seeing her makes me feel better until the older guys start shit with me. I tell them to fuck off, it’s always better if you stand up to them and get right back in their face.

  I get nervous again but I can’t show it, when one of them tells me, “You better hope you’re that tough on the field tomorrow and that you don’t get your head knocked off out there.” I try to look all tough and not let them know how scared I am. I just hope they are planning on blocking for me because if some senior guy that is two hundred and fifty pounds takes me down I might not get up in one piece.

  When Danny and I get to our room I go straight into the bathroom and start puking again. He’s really cool about it. He hears me throwing up and knocks on the door.

  “Go away, I’m fine.”

  “Dude, let me in.”

  I unlock the door and slump down on the floor. Danny sits next to me and I drop my head into my hands.

  “Hey man, I know how you feel. I’ve been there. I still get scared before games. I don’t want to blow a play or look like a pussy if I don’t take a hit but the last thing I want is some big ass dude kicking my ass on the field either.”

  I don’t know what makes me do it, maybe it’s my nerves or maybe I just need to unload it all, but I tell Danny everything about my dad. I tell him how he played basketball at UNC and how he puts so much pressure on me in everything I do. My dad is this control freak perfectionist and if I don’t live up to his expectations he rides me mercilessly. He comes to all of my games and if I don’t play well he calls me a pussy and makes me feel like a loser. I tell Danny that I’m an only child and all my parents have to focus on is me. The pressure is sometimes too much to handle. Lately my dad and I have been doing nothing but fighting and the last thing I want is for him to be at this game and see me not get any playtime, see me suck or even worse choke under the pressure.

  Danny tells me to cut myself some slack. “You’re like the first freshman in the history of the school who was even asked to play in the States game. It’ll be fine and when I’m on the field with you, I got you man. No worries. Okay? Now tell me about that hot piece of ass of yours” Danny says with a smile knowing that comment will both piss me off and change the subject.

  I tell him about Brook and I meeting freshman year and about how Eric is sort of coaching Bobby and I on sex. He tells me I can talk to him too and he said he won’t tell the other guys. I ask him about Wendy and he says he really likes her and that she always says nice things about Brook being a really good cheerleader. We laugh over the whole cheerleader thing.

  “They know it’s not a real sport, right?” Danny asks me, I shrug my shoulders and start to feel better.

  Danny said the cheerleaders were planning on hanging out in one of the other girl’s rooms. I don’t like that Brook’s not in her room but instead hanging with these older girls, God only knows what shit they are going to fill her head with. But I want to try to get to further than I have with her tomorrow night so I decide to leave a message that will make her putty in my hands instead of questioning her on what she’s been doing. Danny and I come up with an idea and we practice what I’m going to say. I call Brook and leave her a message.

  Danny says it was perfect and tells me, “Yeah man, that’s the way you got to be. You need to be confident in yourself. Now when you see her tomorrow morning just grab her and kiss her in front of everyone like she’s never been kissed before and she’ll give you what you want. Trust me, public displays of affection work with chicks every time.”

  In the morning when I see Brook she has her hair in bunches on either side of her head, and she looks so hot I spring wood at the first sight of her. When she looks at me I wave her over, I want to look cool so I don’t want to go to her; I need her to come to me. When she gets to me I wrap my arms around her and kiss her full on the mouth. I tongue her and she kisses me right back. Danny must know what he’s talking about because this sure seems to be working.

  The game is fucking pathetic and I’m just sitting on the bench like I knew I would be. I can hear my father now saying what a waste of his time it was to come and watch me not play. We are losing when the first quarter ends with a score of twenty nothing and I’m still on the fucking sidelines. During halftime the coaches tell me I’m going in. They say I can’t do any worse than the girls they’ve had on the field for the first half. I find the nearest garbage can and puke into it. Danny comes up behind me turns me around and grabs my jersey.

  “Get it together man, this is your chance, don’t blow it. You can do it.” Then he slaps me on the ass and we run out of the tunnel and onto the field.

  When the third quarter starts I throw my helmet on my head and hit the field. During the third quarter I make two touchdowns so now we are only down by five going into the
last quarter. The coaches leave me in for the rest of the game. When there are only seconds left in the game Danny blocks for me when I get the ball and I run down the field making a sixty yard touchdown to win the game as the clock runs out. The crowd goes wild and runs onto the field. The team is jumping on me and lifting me up onto their shoulders when I spot Brook. I kiss her with my parents only a few feet away and I don’t care. I am going to listen to Danny and be confident in myself, if I want to kiss my girlfriend after I win the biggest game of my life then I’ll kiss her! Brook and I head over to my parents. I rush her away from them, not wanting my father to bitch to me about not playing in the first half or any mistakes he feels I made.

  There’s a team party that night and I’m with all the guys jumping and chest bumping when I spot Brook come in. Her ass looks so good in her tight jeans and she’s wearing a tight red t-shirt that makes her tits look amazing. We dance and I tell her she looks hot. I can’t help it; I slap her ass in those tight jeans. I can’t wait to get her alone in the room later and slap that ass some more.

  I try to be romantic when we get to the room and I kiss her softly on the lips. As I kiss her I try to get her down onto the bed and when I finally do I climb on next to her somehow all the while still kissing her. I try to be funny and joke with her; I need her to feel as relaxed as possible so she’ll let me get farther with her tonight. I start tickling her and I make her shirt slides up a little revealing some of her red bra. When I see the red lace I almost blow the whole thing because I can’t take my eyes off of it. I’m waiting for a slap or for her to pull her shirt down but instead she grabs the back of my neck and kisses me hard making me moan and press myself into her leg.

  ************

  I startle awake to find Tate sitting in a chair that he must have pulled in from the living area so he could sit and watch me sleep. He has a shit eating grin on his face when he asks me, “Good nap then?”

  “How long have you been sitting there watching me, Tate Taylor?”

  “Long enough, what or better yet who were you dreaming about, baby?”

  So apparently Tate knows I just had a wet dream like the teenage old boy he once was.

  “Okay, Tate listen you know full well what you did to me in that ballroom with your finger running down my arm and the whispering in my ear and then all this music and remembering our past.”

  Tate is laughing his head off by this point.

  “Hey, it’s been six fucking months since I had an orgasm thanks to you; so cut me some slack” I spit out at him.

  “Please just tell me it was about me. Now, before I flip.”

  “Oh, God I think I’m a pedophile. It was about the teenage you…and me, the first time we were in a hotel room together, you remember?” Then in unison we both laugh, “At States”.

  Chapter 3: The Rekindling

  At dinner Tate and I are joined by his business partner and our lifelong friend, Bobby and his wife Kate. Tate and Bobby are still best friends and they have been working together since they started their own company right out of college. After all these years I’m still not sure I like Bobby’s wife, Kate. Bobby kisses me hello and tells me that I look amazing. He has always been one for flattery.

  “Tate has been a real pain in the ass these last six months without having you around to “handle” him, thank God you’re here, he’s your problem now, babe!”

  I kiss Kate hello and we all take our seats and the evening passes with easy conversation and catching up. As we’re finishing up there is a phone call for Tate that he excuses himself to take it. I excuse myself as well and head to the ladies room. When I come out of the bathroom Bobby and Tate are in a deep discussion about something but when they spot me their facial expressions change into smiles and Tate comes and wraps his arm around my waist, pulling me close and kissing my hair. Bobby looks over to where Kate is chatting with some other women and signals to her. They say good night and Tate says, “Time to slide, baby” then leads me in the opposite direction. We go through the sliding glass doors at the back of the hotel and step out onto the beach.

  “Where are we going?” I ask as Tate kicks off his shoes and I follow his lead and do the same.

  “To your surprise I told you about, come on” he beckons with a hint of playfulness to his voice that I’ve missed more than I realized.

  I Follow Tate down the beach and as we walk along together carrying our shoes in one hand Tate reaches out with his free hand and laces his fingers into mine.

  “Tate, I never got the chance to tell you how amazing that was today in the ballroom. I mean everything was just like the first night we were together at that dance, the night that started it all for us. Then the words to that song, I felt like they were truly coming from you. I hope you meant them. I hope you meant that we can try to get back to the start and work things out. I agree it shouldn’t be this hard but it is not going to be easy either. I just, I don’t know…this is the first time in six months that I felt like you were up for the fight to keep us together. When you left like that I just saw it as you giving up on me, on us and it broke me, Tate, it ripped me apart every day.”

  I am crying now and Tate takes me into his arms and kisses the top of my head.

  “Shhh, I told you not tonight. We’ll talk tomorrow I promise, just please give me tonight to try to make this right, to make you see how I really feel, okay? Please” Tate pleads.

  I nod and squeeze his hand, then bump his shoulder with mine.

  We come to this secluded area of beach where I notice a large kind of hut with fire torches and fairy lights. Tate leads me to the hut and inside there are two massage tables, one for each of us side by side touching each other. There is also a king sized bed just beyond the tables and on each side of the room there are bamboo screens. As we step inside two women dressed all in white step in behind us and zip the front panel of the hut closed. They instruct us to each go behind a screen and remove our clothes, telling us there are robes waiting behind the screens. We do as we are told and meet back each on a table. We slide under the covers and remove our robes so we’re lying naked with a sheet over us.

  Tate smirks and quietly asks me, “Is this all right? The girls? There is no way I can relax with some dude rubbing me or worse…you.”

  “Yes, it’s fine” I respond.

  “I asked for a hot stone massage for you, I know it’s your favorite but if you want something different they can do anything you like” Tate informs me.

  “No, I’m good with the hot stones, it is my favorite. This is amazing Tate, really you can be so romantic when you want to be” I say.

  As my gaze is drawn upwards I notice that instead of a ceiling of material I am treated to a ceiling of stars as the hut is open to the California night sky. The masseuse begins to spread oil on my body and I hear the first cords of “I Won’t Give Up” by Jason Mraz begin to play. Tate reaches out and finds my hand. I feel the hot rocks as they are slid under my back one at a time. Tate squeezes my hand again on the last words of the song and I hear him sigh. I’m not sure if it’s caused by his masseuse or the words from the song he chose to play for me. There is no doubt that Tate has made yet another playlist to speak his words for him.

  I drift off for a bit while the front of my legs, arms and chest are being massaged and when the masseuse starts on my face and head I rouse a little and hear Nelly Furtado’s “Try” playing. I wonder if Tate really means that he’s ready to try, ready to try to give me the one thing that has been missing in our lives. I glance over at him to find him looking at me with tears in his eyes and I know it’s true; when I hear “You’ll be Blessed” by Elton John.

  I climb off the table not caring in the least that I am naked in front of two strange women; I lay on top of my husband and plant kisses all over his face. He wraps his arms around me, and kisses me gently on the lips.

  “We need to talk about a lot of things first Brook…starting tomorrow. I think we need counseling but I want to try. I’m going t
o need a little time to process all of this but I promise we’ll make this work… you and I. I love you, Brooklynn Taylor” Tate chokes out through tears that are forming and threatening to fall from his eyes.

  The Masseuses aren’t sure if they should stay or leave at this point and they keep alternating between looking at Tate and looking at the ground, they are very careful to avert their eyes from my naked body that is still lying atop my husband’s. I decide to climb back onto my table to finish my massage. I lay on my stomach and I hold Tate’s hand while my back, neck, head and feet are rubbed with hot rocks and oil. They are smooth as silk and the more I think about it this experience is actually very erotic. I’m being rubbed by another woman in front of Tate while yet another woman rubs him. All of a sudden I decide I don’t really like the idea of him getting any kind of pleasure from another woman rubbing him. When I turn to look at him he’s staring at me. He smiles, knowing exactly what I’m thinking about and he mouths, “Only you baby… forever.” It’s enough to get me through to the end of our massages and I have to admit I am a bit aroused.

  The masseuses finish up and discreetly leave the hut. Tate comes down off his table, he’s naked and his erection is a sight for sore eyes. He picks me up off of my table allowing me only a fast view of his glorious erection and he carries me over to the bed where he pulls back the covers with one hand then he gently lays me down. Tate joins me on the bed and for the first time in six months I feel his lips on mine. They feel warm and soft, plush and smooth. He kisses my upper lip then my lower one. He slowly runs his tongue along my bottom lip then repeats the process on my upper lip. He is taking his sweet time and the ache in my body is so overwhelming I don’t know how much more I can endure. He takes mercy on me and covers my mouth with his, devouring me. Finally his tongue is in search of mine and I can taste the sweet California wine Tate had with dinner tonight as our tongues tangle. He is being so gentle that it’s maddening. I want him to just fuck me already, right here, right now, fast and furious.