Win Big

by Kelly Jamieson

  We reach the end of the street and find the path. It’s steep and uneven. We both have to watch our footing, and in a few minutes, Everly is breathing hard. I pause. “You okay, princess?”

  “I’m fine.” She narrows her eyes at me. “I work out. Of course, I’m not a professional athlete like you.”

  Pro athlete or not, it’s a workout, and even I’m feeling it by the time we get to the ridge.

  “Let’s go see the tree,” I say, pointing to the sign with an arrow directing us to Burbank Peak.

  “You’ve done this before,” Everly puffs.

  “Once. Don’t tell me you haven’t. You’re a native Los Angeles…Angelesian.”

  She laughs. “Angeleno. And no, I haven’t done this hike.”

  “We can sit for a while when we get there.”

  “Great.”

  We arrive at the Wisdom Tree. We’re not alone here, with small groups of people walking around to check out the view.

  “It’s nice,” Everly says, wiping her brow when we get to the top.

  “Want some water?”

  “Yes, please.”

  I pull out an insulated bottle and hand it to her, then grab the second one to take a drink.

  We stroll over to the big pine tree and take a seat on a couple of rocks.

  “Glad I’m not afraid of heights.” Everly surveys the view stretched out far below us.

  “How about snakes?”

  She actually jumps to her feet. “Where?”

  “Relax.” I reach for her hand and tug her back down. “There could be snakes, though, so good to keep an eye out. Oh hey, look.” I point to a bird soaring, circling over us. “A hawk.”

  “Oh.” She sits again, eyes darting around.

  I slide my arm around her. “I’ll protect you from snakes. Just enjoy the view.”

  “It is beautiful.”

  The sky is clear blue above us, the city hazy beneath us.

  Everly lets out a slow sigh and I feel tension ease out of her body. She hands me back her water bottle and I stow them in the pack again.

  “Like it?”

  “Amazing.”

  I reach for her cheek and turn her face toward me. “Good.” And I kiss her.

  We’re on top of the city, the world spread out around us, and I’m kissing her. Things don’t get much better than this.

  Well, getting her in bed again would be better.

  But there’s a lot to be said for moments like this…just a moment in time, but overflowing with something so beautiful and special and…Jesus, I’m getting so sappy.

  We point out various landmarks in the panorama in front us and sit for a while, before deciding we’re ready to continue on our hike by retracing our steps then heading east to climb to the Cahuenga summit. Once there, we pause to enjoy the view of the San Gabriel Mountains to the north and Los Angeles on the south.

  As we round a corner, the Hollywood sign comes into view.

  “There it is!” Everly points like a little kid. “Cool!” She pulls out her phone. “I have to take a picture!”

  The trail gets steeper and windier, although the views make up for it. This path is even scrubbier, dry and dusty gold, with leafless shrubs and tree roots here and there. At one point we have to go down, then back up. Finally, we’re there, hopping onto a paved road that goes behind the Hollywood sign.

  “Ugh. This fence is in the way.” Everly frowns at the chain-link barrier.

  “If you can climb a bit farther, we can get a better view.”

  “I can do it!”

  I lead her to the hill, where we negotiate a shorter, dusty path to the top, where we’re now looking down on the back of the sign. Again, we’re part of a crowd.

  “Ah! This is amazing!” Everly stares. “Not just the sign…look!” She waves a hand at the city below us, the buildings of downtown L.A. and the mountains in the distance. A thin layer of haze or maybe smog softens the vista. “It’s so beautiful!”

  It really is, so much natural beauty as well as the city.

  “Can you imagine what this was like before there was a city here?” she asks, surprising me. “It’s so…rugged. I feel that there must have been a lot for people to overcome—the weather here is amazing when it’s good, but there are droughts and then floods, even earthquakes.”

  “Yeah. So different from where I grew up on the east coast.”

  Standing behind her, I wrap my arms around her middle and look over her head. She leans back into me. It’s another moment. For a few minutes, we’re actually alone up here.

  “It’s so quiet,” she comments. “Just the wind and the birds.”

  Yes, the quiet is striking…away from the noise and hustle of the city.

  She turns her head to peer up at me. “Thank you for bringing me.”

  “You’re welcome.” I kiss her nose. “I still can’t believe the California girl hasn’t been here.”

  A group of tourists arrives behind us, chattering in a language I don’t recognize—Japanese, I think. They’re all excited about the view and Everly and I exchange a smile at their delight.

  We walk around a bit, holding hands now.

  “Let’s get a selfie,” I suggest. “You can post it on Instagram and everyone will see us on our date.”

  “Oh. That’s a good idea. I kept thinking we had to go places people would see us, but we can do it ourselves.”

  We position ourselves and snap the pic, then do a few more. Then I take a couple of her alone with my phone, without her even realizing it, as she gazes over the vista. She looks beautiful—the wind tugging strands of hair out of her ponytail, her skin glowing in the sunshine.

  Eventually we make the trek back to the vehicle, Everly bounding ahead of me, full of energy. She may not be a professional athlete, but she’s got a lot of get-up-and-go in her. And she may be a perfect princess sometimes, but right now she’s got dirt on the ass of her leggings, sweat and dust on her face and chest, and her hair is windblown. She doesn’t seem to care. In fact, she seems to be loving this, and for some reason the fact that I get to see her like this, all imperfect and dusty and smiling, makes me weirdly happy.

  I take my time driving back to her place. When I park, she looks at me. “Coming in?”

  “Sure.”

  “I can make us dinner, if you want to stay.”

  I gnaw my bottom lip briefly. I’d told Heather I might come by tonight. But I still have the rest of the week off to spend time with Owen. “Okay, that would be great.”

  She unlocks her door and we step inside. A faint scent greets us, something clean and sort of…oceany.

  “I could use a shower.” She grimaces and runs a hand over her hair. “I feel like I’m coated in dust.”

  “Great idea. Let’s go.”

  “Um, what?”

  Smiling, I take her keys from her and hang them on the holder near her door, a pale blue starfish with hooks, then reach for her hand and lead her upstairs. “I saw your shower. It’s big enough for two.”

  She gives a breathless laugh. “I guess it is.”

  In the bathroom I pull her up against me and sniff her hair. “You smell fantastic. Warm, like sunshine and wind.”

  “Mmm. And sweat.”

  “You don’t stink, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

  She leans in to me and inhales. “I love how you smell too.” Then she presses her mouth to the side of my neck.

  I close my eyes and curve my hands over her ass cheeks. They fill my palms with satisfying firmness. She continues to kiss me, soft presses of her mouth on my skin, then a little tongue action on my throat. A groan climbs in my chest.

  I pull her closer, my dick thickening in my shorts, and she makes an aroused noise as she feels my growing erection. I slip my hands under h
er tank top and up her back, lifting the top as I go until I need to pull back and tug it off over her head. Her sports bra is pink, thin straps crisscrossing her shoulders and back. With her eyes on mine, she pulls it off too.

  My gaze drops to her tits—so sweet and pretty, I have to touch them. As I cover them with my palms and gently squeeze, she pushes down her shorts and panties and steps out of them. She lifts one foot, then the other to drag off tiny socks and then she’s naked, right in front of me.

  I step back and quickly get rid of my own clothes as she steps into the shower and turns on the faucet. Water rains down from a showerhead and she holds her hand under it to wait for it to warm up. I join her and close the glass door.

  I can’t wait to touch her and I crowd her up against the tiled wall to kiss her, one hand sliding down her front and between her thighs to cup her. Warm water pouring down on us, I curl my other hand around the nape of her neck, and she kisses me, running her hand up my wet chest and into my hair. Warm water rains down on us, around us, the enclosure slowly filling with steam.

  We start with our hair, Everly handing me a bottle of shampoo. I watch her tits lift as she raises her arms to wash her hair, soapy rivulets running down her smooth body. Then I reach for a sponge hanging from a hook. Everly picks up a bottle and squirts thick liquid onto the sponge. The scent is incredible…it’s Everly, warm spicy flowers. I use the sponge to wash her, starting at her shoulders, her arms, her stomach. I turn her around so her back is to me, to wash that expanse of silky skin, then drop the sponge to use my soapy hands. I slide them around to her front to cup and squeeze her tits. Her nipples are tight points, and the feel of her flesh in my hands all slick and slippery is such a turn-on, I almost can’t stand it.

  My hands wander down over her belly, between her legs. My dick leaps with excitement when she bends over to pick up the sponge.

  “You little tease.” My hands on her hips, I soak up the view she’s offering me, and it’s fucking hot.

  She straightens, tossing a little smile over her shoulder. “I need to wash my legs and feet.”

  She does that, slowly turning to face me, tipping her head back into the shower spray. Then she squirts more body wash and starts washing me. After she’s scrubbed over my shoulders, chest, and abs, I pluck the sponge away from her so she too can continue with her hands.

  My cock is stiff and when Everly lays her hands on my chest to push me back, then reverse our positions, it leaps in delight. Now my back is pressed to the tiles. She kisses me, pulls back, and bites her lip, then, with her eyes fastened on mine, her sudsy wet hand glides down over my chest and abs and closes around my shaft.

  “Jesus,” I groan.

  Her lips tip into a half smile and she lowers herself to the shower floor, kneeling in front of me. I fucking love it, but…I open the shower door, grab a towel, and toss it to the floor for her knees. It gets wet, but who cares, those pretty knees need cushioning.

  She tenderly lifts my cock, kisses my pelvic bones, then the crease of my groin, her eyes still raised to mine. Water streams from her hair and she slowly licks over the head of my cock.

  I slide a hand into her hair, cupping the back of her head, and she slides her mouth lower onto my shaft. The tingles start at the soles of my feet, rocketing up through me in a sizzling rush.

  She glides her lips up and down, slowly, deeper, then lets my cock fall from her mouth. Lifting it, she licks my balls. It’s almost unbearable, need building in my body, my skin tightening.

  I’m watching all this like it’s my own personal porn movie, and nothing could be hotter than Everly on her knees in front of me, that beautiful mouth sucking me, smiling, her eyes moving from staring at my cock in awe, to meeting my eyes and sending sparks shooting down my spine.

  She pulls my testicles into her mouth, slowly, gently, one at a time, then drags her tongue up the underside of my shaft and takes me into her mouth again.

  Sensation twists inside me, pleasure climbing, lust making me dizzy. “That’s fucking amazing,” I groan. “Jesus, Everly.”

  “You like?”

  “I love it. Goddamn, I love it.”

  She works me more, sucking, licking, her hand gripping the base of my cock, and I’m getting so close I have to stop her. I reach down and lift her up, hoisting her by the backs of her thighs.

  She squeals out a laugh and wraps her arms around my neck. Our mouths meet in more long, hungry kisses. I grip her ass with one hand and my cock with the other, find her entrance, and slide home.

  “Awwww fuck.” Her tight heat around me is unbelievable. I lean back against the wall and plant my feet into the floor, holding her butt with both hands to bounce her on my dick. She cups my face and kisses me, although the jolting motion of her body makes it hard. Breathy whimpers and moans fill the steamy air as we move together.

  “You’re so strong,” she gasps. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah. Hell yeah.” I pause. “Are you? Can you come this way?”

  “I…think so.” I watch, fascinated, as she closes her eyes, a little crease between her eyebrows, a look of intense focus on her face. A few seconds later, her fingers dig into my shoulders, she lets out a high-pitched wail and clamps around me.

  “Ah yeah, baby, that’s it…Christ, I’m coming too…” I shout as heat explodes in my center, zipping up my spine, burning in my chest. My balls squeeze, pleasure slamming through me as I burst in long, nearly painful spasms.

  “Wyatt…”

  I gasp, “What?”

  “We didn’t use a condom.”

  “Aw, shit.” My lungs are still heaving, desperate for air.

  “It’s okay…I’m on the pill. But…”

  “It’s okay. I’ve been tested. All good.”

  “Okay.” Relief lightens her voice. “Me too.”

  “Sorry.” I kiss her forehead and slowly lower her to the floor. “So sorry.”

  “We’re good.” She smiles. “So good.”

  Chapter 17

  Everly

  After our shower, I pour us each a glass of Cabernet and we cook dinner together, making a stir-fry with the chicken and vegetables from my fridge. Then we settle on my couch, a fire crackling in the fireplace and my TV turned to a Netflix show neither of us has seen. It’s so easy and comfortable and…right.

  I try not to hyperventilate.

  My Instagram and Facebook posts have gotten a ton of attention, unusual for me. I know it’s because of Wyatt being tagged in them. He’s got a way bigger social media following than I do. I rarely post pictures of myself; I prefer to keep my life private. Or as private as I can, given who my family is. So I guess our outing was unconventional but it accomplished a purpose.

  It also accomplished me having all the feels about Wyatt. Inside, I’m a swirling maelstrom of emotions, many of which I can’t or won’t identify. He keeps surprising me. He may be a vagina hunter, and he may give off attitude like he doesn’t give a shit about anything, but he has a romantic, almost poetic streak. Up there in the hills, with those amazing views and gusts of air scented by the sun-warmed grass and earth, he seemed as moved by it all as I was. It was an incredible sensory experience that soothed something inside me and yet excited me too, and I felt a connection of spirit I don’t know if I’ve ever felt with a man before.

  This was alarming!

  So I also have nerves jittering in my belly, which is pretty normal for me.

  After three back-to-back episodes of the TV show, we call it a night.

  “You have to work tomorrow.” Wyatt picks up our wineglasses and carries them into the kitchen. “I’ll head home and let you sleep.”

  “Damn.” I make it sound like I’m joking, but I’m sort of not.

  He laughs.

  I follow him to the door and we spend long moments kissing good night, which doesn’t help my disa
ppointment that he’s leaving. I’m turned on and breathing hard by the time he walks out the door with a promise to talk soon.

  I drift back into the kitchen to slide the glasses into the dishwasher, my body humming, my mind teeming with images and sensations, my chest full of cotton candy.

  I float up the stairs like I’m filled with helium.

  God. I need to get a grip on my emotions. I need to settle down and be smart about this whole situation. It was supposed to be a media stunt, go on a few dates, make sure people know we’re seeing each other. That’s it.

  After the press conference on Friday, we probably won’t have to see each other again.

  And that makes me really, really sad.

  I can’t screw this up. There’s enough about this family in the media already, with that stupid lawsuit Mark and Matthew have filed against Dad.

  I can’t let my heart get involved in this.

  But I’m having so much fun.

  I change into my pajamas, a pair of flowered shorts and a tank top. I never even blow-dried my hair or put on any makeup after our sexy shower. That’s also weird for me, because I don’t like people to see me when I’m not looking my best. But Wyatt looked at me no differently, touched me and kissed me and snuggled with me on the couch despite me not looking perfect.

  I slide into my bed and pick up my Kindle to read a bit before going to sleep, to distract myself from thinking about Wyatt and about how dangerous it is to let go and have fun, and how I might be making another huge mistake in my life.

  * * *

  —

  I don’t see Wyatt again until Friday morning at the Hockey for All press conference, although we’ve texted back and forth. He hasn’t arrived yet, and I’m hanging out at the front of the media room with Murray and Théo while reporters and photographers file in. Our team videographer is set up at the back, along with a few cameras from sports networks.

  And in walks my brother Asher.