Protecting Maya

by Nicole Casey

  I cleared my throat and clarified, “Oh, hi Amy. It’s Damon. Sorry, it sounds like you guys are sleeping. I didn’t mean to wake you two up. Could you please let Jackson know I’m going to attend your engagement party?”

  She quickly got ecstatic, “Really? Oh, thank you, Damon! It means the world to him. Are you signing on as his Best Man too?”

  “Not yet,” I replied with a chuckle. “I need to check with my team manager and my agents to check my schedule first. If I’m free – if being the key-word here – then sure, I’ll be the Best Man for your wedding.”

  “Yey!” she screamed back. “Okay, I’ll go tell him. He’s down in the basement fixing up our heater. Keep us updated, okay?”

  “Sure thing,” I told her and ended the call.

  An engagement party, huh? This will be interesting. I haven’t seen Jackson and Amy in a few months now, ever since the last NFL season began.

  For tonight, however, I just wanted to hang back in Mercury Wild, get drunk and have fun with my friends.

  2

  Emilia

  “Honey, you look gorgeous,” Amy told me but all I saw in the mirror was a mess.

  I looked one more time. They straightened my hair, which made it seem longer now that it reached my hips, and made me wear this really body-fitting black mini-dress. It was a little kinky, to be honest, with how short the skirt was and how the backless design accentuated the arch of my spine and the curves of my sides. It didn’t help either that the dress was so tight. I could literally feel it squishing my tit.

  “I’m not sure,” I grumbled at her. “I mean, look at you. You’re wearing a really nice, white mermaid dress.”

  “Of course I am,” she answered with a sarcastic tone. “I’m the fiancée getting married in a month. This is my engagement so I’m the one going to wear the mermaid dress.”

  We both laughed and she helped me lace my dress and put on my high heels.

  “It’s nice of you to come back home,” Amy told me as we were lacing up my heels. “How was Paris?”

  I smiled, “It was lovely, darling, but I’d rather be home. Four years in France was amazing but after a while, I just want to talk to people in plain old English and engorge myself in a big, greasy cheeseburger.”

  She laughed and said, “Yeah, I guess there really is no place like home.”

  When I was ready, we both walked out of the bedroom and headed downstairs. I was a little caught off-guard with how many people were there. There could have been at least a hundred different guests.

  As soon as we were down we were flooded with people greeting us, congratulating Amy, commenting on how beautiful we were and how nice our dresses were. It was a little nauseating but also heart-melting just to see how many friends we had.

  That was when I saw Jackson hanging out with the one man I never thought I’d see again. Awkwardly for me, they both spotted me and my brother hauled me close before I could run off and engage with someone else for a conversation.

  I stood there like an idiot, moping around and looking down at my feet instead of greeting my brother and Damon eye-to-eye.

  “Hey, little sister,” Jackson greeted as he pulled me over. “Damon’s here too.”

  “I can see that,” I told my brother with the driest, most sarcastic tone I could muster. I then looked up at Damon real quick and gave him a smile.

  “It’s nice to see you. Uhm, I got to go though, okay? Amy’s making rounds with her family guests and I need to go with her.”

  “Oh no, no, let me do that,” Jackson told me as he gave me a wicked wink and smile. He pushed me back towards Damon and whispered into my ear, “He’s single now. Here’s your chance, sis.”

  I rolled my eyes and watched desperately as he walked away. I then looked back at Damon with a weak grin, “Well, how have you been doing?”

  He looked back at me with squinted eyes and it took a moment for me to realize he was checking me out. I blushed and looked down in an attempt to hide my face. He didn’t settle for that, though, and lifted my face up with a finger.

  “I’ve been doing pretty well,” he replied. “You’ve been out of the country for so long. I hope you’ve still been able to watch my games over there in France.”

  I bit down on my lip and gazed back at him. Even after five years, he was still as handsome as one could ever be. Just being this close to him made me feel a little warm and uneasy. I felt this heavy knot in my chest but at the same time, I once again felt a little queasy between the legs.

  “I-I have, actually,” I admitted. I looked up shyly and teased, “To be honest, I still watch your games religiously.”

  That confession took him back and I saw his face twist with both surprise and joy. He then took my hand and asked, “Say, how about we sit down somewhere and get some drinks to catch up, eh?”

  I nodded and let him lead me off. We passed by Trevor and Jasmine Wild, folks I really admired, and he took me to the gazebo out in the back yard. No one was there, surprisingly, as most of our guests were across the yard having barbecued snacks and beer.

  Once we were alone I turned to him and asked, “Will you be staying here long? I’m going to stay here for a few months. I don’t really know what I want to do now that I’m done with France.”

  “I’m free for a month or two,” Damon answered. “The next NFL season is still a long way off but the agents want us to be training soon. I did sign a contract with my manager and the team but to be honest… I’m getting a little sick and tired of it.”

  “Really?” I looked at him with surprise. I never thought I’d hear him say that. “Isn’t football your life?”

  He shrugged and shot back, “Wasn’t your hotel business in France your life too? You gave it up to come back here. I’m thinking of doing the same thing –”

  Damon barely got to finish speaking when a little four-year old boy came running into the gazebo with his arms wide open. I hugged the child and sat him on my lap.

  “Jeremy, this is Damon,” I told the young boy. “Be a good boy and say hi.”

  “Okay mommy,” Jeremy answered and he turned to Damon. He reached out to shake Damon’s hand and said, “I’m Jeremy. Are you friends with my mommy?”

  Damon looked at my kid with wide eyes. It must have been so shocking for him to see me with a kid. He took Jeremy’s hand, shook it and stuttered back, “Yes, I am. We went to school together. How old are you?”

  My son smiled back at Damon and replied, “Four. Okay, I got to go now. We’re playing cops and robbers.”

  Without so much as a wave goodbye he dashed off to play with his friends. I watched a bit just to make sure he wouldn’t stumble while running. When I saw him reunite with the other kids I turned to Damon. I was surprised to see him studying my son with observant eyes.

  “Yeah, shocking huh?”

  Damon nodded and said, “Yeah, it is. I never thought you’d be a mommy.”

  “Me neither,” I said, perhaps with a tone too melancholic for my liking. We both felt it and a moment of silence passed between us.

  He shattered that silence with a tap on my leg, “Would you be free, say next Saturday? Care to go out for some food or a movie? We can bring Jeremy if you like.”

  Was he asking me out for a date? Really? We just spent like five minutes together and he was already thinking about dating me? Maybe I was just reading too deeply into this. Maybe he just wanted to reconnect and be friends.

  “Sure,” I answered. I had nothing to lose anyway, right?

  Damon looked happy when I said that and we spent the rest of the day chatting about each other’s lives. I was proud to show-off all my progress in my hotel business in France and he talked to me about his professional football career.

  Every time Jeremy would pass I couldn’t help but notice Damon looking at my son. It was like he was studying Jeremy’s face and features very carefully – maybe too carefully.

  Was I going to let him know that Jeremy was his?

  3
/>   Damon

  A few days passed and I was back in my condominium, relaxing a bit and watching videos on my laptop. I completely ignored the email our coach sent us – I could just look at it later on. All I wanted to do today was sit back and relax.

  So there I was, on my bed watching some old movies on Netflix when my phone buzzed. I thought about ignoring it but my curiosity got the better of me and I took a moment to look at it. To my surprise, it was Emilia.

  “Hey, I’m free for an hour. You want to hang out?”

  I was not sure how I was supposed to feel. I read that message over and over again and to my surprise, I started to get excited. Yes, we only had a one-night stand, but that felt so good and I couldn’t stop thinking about that night. I could feel my cock throbbing in anticipation and I had to grasp it tightly with both hands as my mind flooded with images of Emilia and her fucking hot body.

  Before I knew I was lying on the bed, masturbating like there was no tomorrow. My mind was filled with images of Emilia – I thought of her new look, her now-longer hair and the way her body curved. Having a kid made her body figure even hotter than before – she now had sexier hips and gigantic tits. I could just imagine what it’d be like to bury my face in her breasts and to get a taste of her sexy little pussy.

  “Fuck, fuck, fuck!” I grunted as the urge was growing stronger. I kept on rubbing and stroking until at least I spilled my cum all over the damn floor.

  I grabbed my old shirt off the floor, wiped myself clean and then grabbed my phone. I quickly texted back, “Sure. Where do we meet?”

  “At the GreenCo Diner in thirty minutes,” she texted back.

  Well, shit. I didn’t have much time to get ready so I took a quick hot shower, put on whatever I could find and dashed out of my unit and back down to the parking lot. I hopped into my car and drove out as quickly as I could.

  By the time I got there, I was relieved to see I was the one who reached the diner first. I was able to order a milkshake and some French fries before she got there.

  I clenched my fist when I saw just how freaking hot she was – she was dressed in this light, floral dress. It made her legs so appealing and I imagined how I could just drag her panties down and fuck her over one of the tables.

  “Hey, I ordered you a milkshake too,” I told her as she sat down.

  She put her small purse down and nodded, “Thank you. Sorry, I can’t really stay here too long. I have to pick up my kid at the preschool in an hour.”

  I felt my heart sink. Well, there go my hopes for a quickie. I knew she wasn’t free the whole day but I didn’t know she was going to be busy with her son. There was absolutely no way she was going to choose me over a day with her kid.

  “That’s okay,” I answered. “So, he’s in preschool now, huh?”

  She nodded and quickly turned to the side when the waitress came with our milkshakes. She took her drink, thanked the waitress and then turned back to me, “Yeah. Time flies so quickly. It was just like yesterday when I found out I was pregnant.”

  Fuck, I didn’t want to hear about that. However, a nagging question did pop into my head and I couldn’t help but ask, “Who’s the father, if you don’t mind my asking?”

  Emilia didn’t immediately reply and I saw her bite her lip in hesitation. There were a full five seconds before she even looked up at me and that was when my deepest suspicions began to grow – was Jeremy my son? He did bear a resemblance to me but there were so many other guys with the same hair color and square jaw like mine.

  “Emilia?” I prodded her real quick with a finger. “You okay there?”

  She shrugged and forced a grin, “Y-yeah. It’s just that my love story isn’t really one for the movies, you know? How’s your love life going? I bet you’ve had a lot of girls.”

  I nodded, confirming her thoughts regardless of how it would make her think of me, and said, “Well, yeah. There’s no hiding that, I guess. I didn’t meet most of them during our games, though. Most of them I met at Mercury Wild.”

  “Trevor’s gig?” she followed up with a chuckle. “Best pickup spot for the rich and famous.”

  Her comment made me laugh and I nearly snorted out my drink. That made her laugh too and for the first time in a long time, I got to spend a moment with a hot chick without taking our clothes off. It was honestly a little refreshing.

  “Yeah, I spend way too much time there lately,” I admitted. “There are so many girls throwing themselves at me now.”

  Emilia looked at me as she sipped her drink then said, “You know, you’re a little different.”

  “What? How so?”

  “You seem a little more… I don’t know, mature?” she stumbled with the words and I giggled at how cute she was. “Back then you couldn’t last five minutes talking to a girl before slipping her out of her panties. We’ve been talking like this for days now and you’re surprisingly behaving yourself.”

  I didn’t know if I was supposed to be insulted by that or honored. She just called me an uncontrollable playboy. Sure, it was true but did she really have to say it?

  “I just wanted to spend some time with you,” I told her, hoping I’d wrestle my way properly through this conversation. “Last time we were together you told me you had this big crush on me. I just wanted to get to see why. I want to know you – genuinely know you, not just what’s underneath the cute dress.”

  Emilia blushed and I had to bite down on my own lip to hide my excitement and glee. She was just so damn adorable. I then reached forward and grabbed her hand. As soon as my fingertips touched her skin I felt this odd spark surge through my body and I just glanced at her with this uneasy – but warm – sensation swelling in me.

  4

  Emilia

  “Huh?” I mumbled out when he held my hand. It was shocking but at the same time, I felt giddy inside. It was like being back in college and how I’d jump a little bit with joy inside every time he would look my way.

  “You are single, right?” he asked, just to clarify.

  I nodded frantically and pondered about sliding my hand out from his. I just couldn’t do it though and instead flipped it around so I could squeeze his. “Why is that relevant all of a sudden?”

  “Let’s pick things up where we left them,” he told me.

  I scoffed and this time I did pull my hand out, “Where we left off? You fucked me and then drove me home. I texted you all week but you never cared to reply even once. I called you to let you know I was leaving the country and you didn’t even pick up the phone.”

  Damon looked at me with hurt eyes and I could have sworn there was a tear swelling. He brushed it off quickly and then told me, “I know that. That’s why I’m trying to fix things by being the better man this time.”

  Being the better man? Maybe he was indeed being a bit more mature. How could I really know though? I wasn’t going to just blurt out the truth about him and Jeremy unless I saw he was man enough to take hold of that responsibility.

  “How do you plan on fixing things?” I asked him. I finished my milkshake and leaned back on my seat to get a better study of his face.

  Damon did not disappoint. “I want to know you – genuinely, know you – and your kid too. No sex unless you’re the one who starts it. I promise you that.”

  I bit down on my lip and nodded, “That sounds nice. Okay, then.”

  “We’re officially dating?” he was like a kid who got to see the grand finale of fireworks on the Fourth of July.

  “Yeah,” I answered. “Don’t expect me to tell you I love you or anything, that’s fucking ridiculous… but we are going out. You can have that much.”

  Damon nodded and got up from his seat. He moved around the table and scooted me over so he could then sit by my side. As soon as he did I nearly drooled at how damn good he smelled. I was so tempted to bury my face in his chest and let him squeeze me in with a good hug.

  “There is one other important rule: don’t you dare fucking date, flirt or fuck with some
other chick while we’re together,” I reminded him. “Those playboy antics – throw ‘em out the window.”

  He laughed and wrapped an arm around me, “I promise you I won’t cheat or even look at another woman.”

  I nestled into his embrace and just soaked in the moment. He was being so sweet it was hard not to just let it happen. I then asked, “What do you want to know first – other than details about Jeremy.”

  “What are your hobbies?” he asked me. “I mean, I don’t know what you’re really into. When we were in college you buried your face in books like a nerd. That’s why I barely ever noticed you – you were a damn fly on the wall.”

  That caught me a little off-guard. Maybe I was a little too shy back in college. I just focused on studying so I could get the heck out of school and move on with life.

  “You really want to know?” I answered with a grin. “I love going outdoors. Hiking, mountain climbing, rapid-water rafting and camping out in the woods are the kind of activities for me.”

  “Not really the ‘chill at home with Netflix’ kind of chick, huh?” he asked. “I always thought you were the kind of nerdy hot girl who plays video games at home and drinks hot cappuccino while reading a book.”

  I laughed so hard at that comment. It was a little cute to think he thought of me that way. I then shook my head and explained, “I can stay at home and chill for games or movies but I just prefer the exhilaration from the outdoors.”

  “This was really fun,” Damon then told me. “Maybe next time we can go out at the park and just ride one of those row boats. I know it doesn’t sound exciting but it’s at least a bit exciting and we’re not in the house, right? Jeremy would have fun too.”

  “Oh shit, Jeremy!” I jumped when he mentioned Jeremy. I quickly checked my watch and hurried to get up, “Hey, I gotta go. I need to pick him up. Uh, I’ll let you know the next time we’re free, okay?”