So Different (14 page)

* * *

Thursday night Adam found himself at The Rail Yard for another practice. He parked near the front door. The parking lot was empty save for a few cars. He was back here again, chalking up his earlier decision to stop.

He walked in through the side door, having noticed the women leaving from it the last time. He didn’t venture too far into the building. Her team stood talking and putting on skates. He was early, apparently.

He walked over to the not-so-good seats, further away from the rink than the season ticket holders. It was not so bright over there. The lights in here weren’t in full operation, mostly the lights on around the track, so he sat in the shadows. He found her, in short blue jean shorts and a t-shirt, with those white knee length socks covering shapely brown legs. She was moving around the track, head down, racing fast, her main speed. When she’d taken control of them last night, fast and furious had been her pace.

Her team was lining up now, doing some kind of exercise. He’d ask Mariah about it later if he were lucky enough to talk her into coming back with him. Women’s Flat Track Roller Derby was a big deal. He’d googled it. There were teams all over the nation, and it was growing in popularity internationally, too. Since Austin was the re-birth place of derby, the leagues of the city would probably always be a dominant force.

He watched the team move on to another drill. One woman stood shouting as they moved around the track. She must have been the captain. Mariah was focused and following instructions. A team player? Probably not, but the desire to win probably overrode her independent streak.

After thirty minutes of ogling her backside as it rolled around the rink, practice was done. The women now stood around, talking and glancing at him. Mariah stood in the middle, studiously avoiding his gaze. He sat there waiting, letting her finish up. He’d catch her on her way out.

* * *

Mariah sat, pushing her skates into her bag. Yes, she’d seen him, and had spent the whole night wondering what to do. She knew what she wanted to do—go back to his apartment after she cleaned up, just like the last time. This could become habit-forming, and probably not the best thing for her.

Ten minutes later she was done. She stood up and made her way to the door. As she got closer to him, he stood up, closing the distance between them.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hey.”

“Good practice?” he asked, falling into step beside her, opening the door for her to walk through, out into the night air. It was dark.

“Not too bad,” she said, slowing down in her trek to her car. “So…” she said, stopping next to her car, noticing his parked next to hers.

“Want to grab something to eat?” he asked.

“No,” she said.

“Come over to my apartment?” he asked, choosing to ask for what he wanted, and that wasn’t anything to eat.

“Yes,” she said, surprising him again. She could tell. “Let me go home and shower, and I’ll be there in an hour.”

“Sure,” he said, watching as she unlocked her car, threw her bag into the passenger seat, and slid in. She started her car and drove away.

“That was efficient,” he said into the dark. And a little impersonal also, but if she didn’t mind, neither did he. He walked the few steps to his car.

* * *

“Okay Mariah, what are we doing here?” she said to the empty seats in her car as she drove away, looking at him standing there in her rearview mirror. “I want more, and that’s it. And that’s okay. I don’t have to provide a list of the reasons why. I like the way he feels underneath me. It’s as simple and as basic as that. I’m going home, changing, and returning to his apartment. And I might do it again or I might not. We’ll see.”

She gave enough of herself to others, wanted something different for a while, something other than work, work, work. What was wrong with that? She’d decided that derby and now Adam would be for her, until she decided different. Not everything in life had to be long term or planned.

* * *

“
Why the derby and not some other sport?” he asked, lying underneath her later on that night.

“
I wasn’t that big into sports in school. I didn’t do the group stuff. Casper hounded me, and it fit with my personality more than the others, I guess. A way to use up frustration.”

“Frustration from what?”

“Life sometimes, people’s attitudes, treatment of my students, my brother,” she said.

“So you’re the new Batgirl, corrector of societal ills,” he said, running his fingers through her still-wet hair. She was cute lying on him, her chest on his, resting on him as if his body was her new mattress, his chest her pillow.

“Sometimes. Can’t seem to help myself. I don’t like to see others mistreated. Plus I’m not a joiner of groups, so the derby works for me.”

“You do know that the derby is a group. There are other people on the track beside you. Tell me you noticed that,” he said, smiling.

“I noticed. Okay, it’s a group, but more of the anti-group group. Or it began that way, anyway,” she said, leaning into him for a kiss that lasted for a minute or two. “I love the way you kiss—like you’re not in any hurry.”

“I’m not in any hurry,” he said, running his tongue along the seam of her lips. “Did you try out any other sports?”

“Nope,” she said, her gaze searching, for what he didn’t know.

“What sport did you play, I wonder?” she asked, her gaze searching. “You look like the football jock all-around athlete type of guy. The cute cheerleader your arm candy of choice, I bet.”

“You think so?”

“What was that like? Everyone at the birth of the new baby Adam. The wise men, the halleluiah chorus all singing the praises of the young dentist come to save the world,” she said, laughing. “Bet the angels live on your shoulders still, intervening at every opportunity, smoothing out life’s bumps and bruises for you. Can’t have the wee one hurt,” she said, laughing more. “What do you know about difficulty?”

“I know a thing or two. Sometimes the angel took a night off.”

“Like what…when?”

He shrugged. “So the derby started up again in Austin?”

“What’s this fascination with the derby?”

“Just trying to learn the sport,” he said, putting his arm underneath his head, his own pillow. He ran his free hand down her back, over the smooth contours of her body.

“Enough with that subject for today then. Let’s put some time in on another subject,” she said.

“What subject?” he asked.

“You know what subject.” Her smile was all about the sex.

He grinned and dumped her off his chest, watching her fall over onto the bed. He grabbed her wrists then, quickly forcing them outward, rolling her over onto her stomach, extending her arms outward while he covered her, his front to her back, his mouth near her ear. “Okay, then, ready for your next lesson?” he whispered into her ear.

“Which one?” she asked, trying to look over her shoulder at him. He was sexy beyond anyone she’d known, black hair tangled, a decadent-looking smile on his face, spreading her legs with one of his own.

“I love your ass,” he said, running one hand over it. He pushed her legs further apart, and he now between them. He grabbed her hips and pulled them up until she rested on her knees, arms spread-eagled, holding her up before he placed his hands over hers, to hold her in place, his face near her ear again. “Lesson number one,” he whispered, pushing slowing into her. She groaned and he laughed.

* * *

Second week of May

Mariah waved to Adam. He sat in his usual spot, waiting for her to finish. She was so ready to go, but it would be a while. Dee, their team co-captain, had that
you’re-not-doing-enough-to-win
look in her eye.

“We have got to get better. You all have got to do more work outside, focus on building up your endurance. You can’t expect to receive enough training two days a week. You have to supplement, work on your weak spots. Don’t know how many ways I can say that.”

“We do. We are?” Reagan said. Dee shot her a glare, continuing on as if Reagan hadn’t spoken.

“I don’t need to tell you all where we are in the rankings. Last place. This is not where we wanted to end up,” she said. “The Divas will kick our asses if we’re not prepared.”

“They’ll kick our ass if we are prepared,” Reagan said, under her breath this time.

“Tonight I need the blockers to step up their game. We’re working on blocking skills tonight. Basic blocking. Mariah, line up!” Dee barked out in the drill sergeant style she favored.

“Blockers,” she shouted, turning to face them. “Let’s try and keep Mariah on her butt. Then will give our little catholic school girl a try,” she said, sending a glare Lisa’s way. “Okay, think you can do that? No moaning, bitches,” she added after taking in their expressions. Mariah glanced over at Adam, who sat with his back leaning against the wall, observing, his tennis-shoe-clad feet stretched out before him. She’d give quite a bit to know what was going through his mind.

“Ready? Let’s go,” Dee said, blowing that whistle. Mariah took off, racing to catch up to Lisa and Sally in the back, not usually much of a problem for her. Usually they helped her try and get around, but tonight they were to block her. No problem. She bumped into Lisa, who didn’t weigh much. She gave her a hip check; her timing was good, and it forced Lisa to the side. Sally was different.

Mariah pushed and shoved and eventually got by her to encounter her other nemesis, Good & Plenty, who was built more like Casper—tall and stocky—but twice as thick, and she’d put Mariah on her ass quite a bit in the past. Mariah moved to pass her, but not today, it seemed; one hip check and she went sprawling, landing on her hip. Ouch. She jumped up and went back for more. It was what derby women did—fall down and get back up.

Practice was thirty minutes of sustaining hits for Mariah and thirty minutes of speed and agility training.

She rolled over to the bench afterward and took off her skates, peeking at Adam under her eyelashes. She caught his gaze; he was waiting patiently, as always. She glanced in his direction a few minutes later and he smiled—at what she didn’t know. He had one beautiful smile. She gave him a glare, just for the hell of it. When she was done, she glanced over at him again.

He sat now, elbows resting on his knees, those glasses giving him the sexy nerd look. She loved that about him, that he could be both.

Get a grip, Mariah, it’s just sex, and don’t you forget it. Two weeks of him coming by and picking you up should remind you of that
. Five minutes later she was walking towards him.

“Tough practice,” he said, watching her slight limp as he met her at the door.

“Yep. Dee was on a tear, wanting us to be a better team. I wish,” she said.

“Maybe next year, ” he said, opening the door for her. He followed her out into the night.

She laughed. “Thanks for the vote of confidence,” she said, reaching her car door. She unlocked it, threw her bag into the back, and turned to him.

“If you’re tired, I’ll understand. We can catch up later.”

“Are
you
tired?” she asked, or more like scoffed.

“Nope.”

“I’ll see you in a few, then,” she replied.

“Looking forward to it,” he said and gave her that dentist smile again, so fresh and so clean-clean.

She smiled back, hers matching his as she slid into her car. He stood and watched as she drove away, shaking his head at this. Mariah would probably rather bite off her tongue before she’d let on that practice had been hard on her. Maybe tonight he could go easy. Limit her aggression. Tonight could be slow and easy, the style of sex he favored.

* * *

Forty-five minutes later Mariah knocked, like clockwork, and he opened the door. She was dressed in a skirt, flowing, stopping a little above her knee, with a t-shirt. It was either a skirt or cargo pants with Mariah, her signature looks.

She pulled her helmet off and set it and her bag on the floor. Her hair, black in color today, was wet on her head. The color changed often. Blonde was still his preference, though. He walked over to meet her, his hand going around her waist as he leaned in for a kiss. He pushed her against the door and reached for the bottom of her shirt.

“I…wait…” she said, but his mouth found hers, and his tongue entered her mouth when she opened it.
Okay, here and now works
, she thought. He pulled her shirt over her head while she worked to release the catch that held her skirt in place. No slow-and-easy Adam tonight. Fine. She could work with fast—preferred it, actually. Her skirt fell and she pushed him away a second to get out of her underwear. He stood there and stared at her, chest moving in and out, breathing hard.

“What?” she asked. Not sure what to make of him.

“Nothing,” he said, laughing at little, almost to himself. He grabbed her hand and led her to his bedroom. Thirty minutes later, they lay side by side, letting their breathing slow.

“How often does your team practice blocking?” he said, in between breaths.

“Once a month. Dee thinks it’s our weak spot.”

“So have you ever thought about timing? Trying to get them off balance before trying to pass?”

“I know you’re not trying to give me advice on how to play derby,” she said.

“No, I’m not. I used to wrestle in high school, and sometimes it was about gauging your opponent before making your move. All about timing.”

“Oh, so you think it’s easy, huh?” she said, rolling over to face him. “You think you can block me?”

“What?” he asked, staring at her now liked she lost her mind. She was sitting up now.

“I said, do you think you could block me?”

“I don’t know… I think so… yeah, maybe, except you’ve got the skating ability… advantage, but yes, I could block you,” he said, smiling at the challenge staring back at him.

“Okay, stand up,” she said, getting onto her feet, all trace of being tired gone.

“What?” he asked, looking at her, standing naked at his bedside, challenge in her gaze. “Now? Here?”

“Yep,” she said, reaching for his hand and almost pulling him up.

“Mariah, you’re scary,” he said, but stood.

“That’s my name. Don’t wear it out,” she said, grinning now.

“Maybe I should get dressed,” he said, standing nude beside her, looking around for his boxers.

“If you want to. I won’t hurt you, though,” she said, looking around at the room, too. “It’s too small in here. Let’s try the living room.” She turned on her heel and walked out of the bedroom.

He laughed, surprised at this turn of events. He slipped on his boxers and followed her out. He walked into the room and caught her pulling on her t-shirt, his favorite underwear already on and covering her lower half. He watched as she moved his table to the end of the couch, out of the way. He loved her body, the color; loved that she was totally not self-conscious, working intently in her underwear and t-shirt. He didn’t have much furniture, so it didn’t take her long to clear a space for them.

She looked up at him. “Ready?” she asked.

“Sure,” he replied, not at all sure, but ready to do whatever.

“Okay, you stand here,” she said, pulling him to stand in the middle of the room.

“I’ll come from behind you, and you try to prevent me from getting around you.”

“Okay,” he said, still chuckling at her.

“You won’t be laughing in a minute after I’ve gotten around you,” she said, challenge in her gaze, a smile on her lips, menacing a little, the kick ass roller girl now in place.

“All right,” he said, trying not to laugh.

He turned to face the front. She didn’t really stand a chance. He outweighed her by fifty pounds. He listened. It was quiet. Then he heard her moving to him, on his right side. He waited until she got close and pushed her with his hip, knocking her onto the couch that was between him and the wall on his right side. He turned to look at her, smiled and laughed at her expression, a mix of surprise and determination. He laughed again.

“I wasn’t really trying,” she said, standing up. “Let’s try it again.” She marched back to start over.

He listened and this time she moved to his left. He waited until she reached him and he gave a fake-elbow and a half-hearted shove and let her get past.

“You weren’t trying that time,” she said, turning around to face him. “It’s not the same since you’re not in skates. Its hard to simulate,” she said, standing there staring at him, trying not to laugh. How odd this was.

“Mariah Scary,” he said, shaking his head in amusement, and started laughing again.

“I could take you,” she said.

“I bet you could,” he replied, eyeing her. He reached for her, and she moved just out of his reach, looking up at him in challenge. “Don’t make me take you, Mariah,” he said with a warning gleam in his eye.

“Sure about that?” she said.

They stood there, smiling, waiting to see who would move first. She faked left and went right. He caught her, one arm around her waist, lifted her, and put her back in front. He smiled again, waiting for her to try her next move.

She looked over his right shoulder, her eyes widening, like there was someone behind him, but he didn’t take the bait. He laughed instead, his eyes never leaving hers. She chuckled, too, clearly calculating. She did that faking left thing again, and went right. He caught her and put her back in front.

“Give up?” he asked.

“Nope,” she said, and reached for his testicles, catching him off guard. His arms came down to stop her and she pushed him then, knocking him over onto the couch. She took off, laughing over her shoulder as she ran towards the bedroom, hoping to close the door before he could catch her. She pushed the door closed, but was no match in strength with him as he pushed back and the door opened. He entered to find her lying on the bed, her arms behind her head, pretending she’d been there waiting for him all along. He laughed and walked over to look down at her before stripping, his eyes on hers as she did the same before he slid his body over the satiny smoothness of hers.

“We’re going to be extremely tired in the morning,” he said, leaning down, his lips touching hers softly. They stayed there for a second or two, exploring each other’s mouths. She was glad he was a kisser, because she was, too, and could spend lots of time at his mouth. He never seemed in a hurry, never rushed this. He’d always seemed to want to go slow—so unlike her—but she was coming over to see it from his perspective.

“Open for me,” he whispered against her lips, reaching for a condom.

“You know, I love it when you say that, when you ask me in that way,” she whispered. “You did it at the office, the first time I saw you.”

“Glad you like it,” he said, pushing her legs apart. Her arms moved to surround his neck, but he turned them, and he was on his back now, and she was full flush on him. He grabbed her ass, one round cheek for each hand, feeling the smoothness of them, ran a close second to her breasts. With his hands full of her now, he used them to move her, to slide her hips and body upward, until the juncture of her thighs rested just at the tip of his penis.

“Open for me,” he said again, in that quiet authoritarian way of his, staring at her, eyes open, all serious and smoking. She complied. He pushed her ass downward, entering her ever so slowly, and she moaned. So did he at the way she always made him feel when he entered her, welcome and necessary. He could live in the mines of Mariah forever.

“Now close,” he whispered, and waited for her legs to close before he whispered again, “Relax and let me.” She did. He used his hands on her ass and began to move her body up and down, a nice, smooth, soft, wet, carnal glide in and out of her body in that slow way he preferred. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the strength and quiet authority that was Adam.

* * *

Third week in May, Thursday night

“You must be good. He keeps coming back,” Sally said, skating over to Mariah as Adam took a seat near the door; his normal perch while he watched practice end. Mariah gave her the middle finger. They were into week number three—just Tuesdays and Thursdays—no more, no less. She had yet to give him her number, and he hadn’t asked, so they were okay, apparently. She laughed and skated away.

* * *

“I know all of that,” he said, blowing her off like he was past the beginning stage. They were at his apartment now, in bed, same as usual—she on top, catching her breath. He ran his hand over her back.

“So you think you know derby now?” she said, looking down into his eyes. They were twinkling.

“I do. The basics, anyway,” he said, and she laughed again.

“You don’t believe me,” he said, slightly bent at being challenged. “Its not rocket science. I’ve played sports before.”

“I’m not saying you don’t, but you’ve come to a total of three matches and a few practices and now you’re the derby expert,” she said. He turned onto his side, effectively dumping her over onto the bed.

“Touchy,” she said and laughed, throwing a pillow as he left the room, heading to the bathroom. A few seconds later he returned with a bottle of vitamins and a jar of aspirin in his hands.

“Kinky. Pills. And what are we going to do with those?” she said, moving her eyebrows up and down. He laughed.

“Shut up and move over,” he said, opening the cap and pouring the vitamins on the bed.

“I don’t know this game,” she said and he chuckled.

She watched and he counted out five vitamins. “Thunderstorm,” he said.

They were large and brown vitamins.

He opened the other bottle of aspirin. These were white and smaller.