The Gamble: A Novel (17 page)

“Can you promise me that? Can you promise while we're trying out this dating thing I'm the only one who gets to make this,” she rolls her hips on top of my stiff, swim trunk covered cock, “hard....and do something about it?”

I wet my lips as my fingers firmly grip her ass. “Baby, you're the only one who even gets me hard anymore.”

She smiles. “Sweet...but a total line.”

“I fucking wish it was,” my sigh is met with another beam. “At least then I wouldn't feel completely pussy whipped.”

Alexxa's body rocks on top of mine again and she whimpers. “You're pussy whipped for me already?”

“Say that with less satisfaction,” I grumble. This time when she grinds against my shaft, I grab her by the nape of the neck, and drag her lips to mine. Our tongues only meet momentarily before I'm pulling away to ask, “Why do you taste like mouthwash?”

She bites her bottom lip until I do it instead. Another soft cry comes out from my action and I have to restrain myself from doing anything about it. Finally she answers, “Grabbed one of your breath strips from your nightstand. My breath was seriously rank.”

“No surprise after you vomited up enough to drown a small person.” As the realization of why she got so sick so fast hits me, I let my hand drop. “Speaking of, you need to eat. You're gonna need the energy...”

“You think so?” She playfully counters. “One or two sweet lines and you assume I'm just taking my panties off?”

Yeah. Wait. That's probably the wrong answer, right coach?

Rather than possibly fuck myself over, I tease, “Technically you're not wearing panties and your swim bottoms are one pull away from showing me exactly where I wanna write my name.”

Alexxa bites her bottom lip.

“Food first.”

“Then the fireworks.”

I try not grouse. “Can't we...make our own fireworks instead?”

She rolls her eyes, gives my chest a hit, and stands up. “You can do better than that.”

“Give me better material.”

“Oh so it's my fault you're spouting off C class pick-up lines?” Making her way to the kitchen, she continues to talk shit, “Are you saying I'm a C class girl, so I get C class lines? You're definitely on the wrong diamond if you think it's headed for the sex world series.”

Thankful and relieved to have
my
Alexxa back instead of the cold, distant, moody one I've had all week, I simply laugh with her.

Might I add I'm proud she's remembering sports facts better? It's kinda fucking hot.

After the two of us stuff our faces full of BBQ chicken, hot dogs, and hamburgers, we make our way back down to the pool where people are already watching the fireworks. The huge park not far from here shoots them off every year, giving us all the best show from the comfort of our own apartments or in this case from the comfort of the annual Fourth of July pool party.

I swipe a cup of beer and drop down next to Warren who looks even more buzzed than when he brought the food up. He turns to me. “We straight?”

“Yeah.” Alexxa leans against me and I drop an arm around her shoulder. “We're straight.”

Warren glances her direction. With a simple shake of his head, he drops his voice down to a whisper only I can hear, “We're really gonna keep this thing going?”

I hesitate.

Calling it off wouldn't be quitting mid-season. It'd more like calling it a tie. Ugh. I fucking hate ties. There has to be a winner.

Instead of shaking my head, I reluctantly nod.

He lets out a deep exhale. “You're so fucked up.”

Tell me about it.

“Alexxa, you cool now?” Warren questions and leans his body around the front of me to see her.

“Yeah, I drank way too much,” she confesses. “Probably shouldn't drive home tonight. Looks like I'll be crashing on your couch.”

“You can sleep in my bed,” Warren volunteers. “There's always a place for you in it. You know that.”

“You do have the best pillows-”

“What the fuck?” I abruptly interrupt. “When the fuck were you in Warren's bed?”

“Recently?” Alexxa innocently asks.

“Ever.”

“I've slept in his bed like hundreds of times,” she answers just as another round of the fireworks begins. “Look! They're going again!”

The new found jealousy that doesn't seem to have trouble continuously sneaking in a lay-up, does so again. “What the fuck do you mean
hundreds
of times? Why? Why the fuck would you sleep in his bed hundreds of times?”

Warren smirks as if getting exactly what he wanted.

And I'm the fucking asshole?

“Calm down drama queen,” Alexxa insists at the same time another colorful burst fills the sky. “Sometimes when I fall asleep on the couch instead of leaving me there
like you
, he carries me to his room so I have somewhere more comfortable to sleep.”

“Or if she's come over and we don't wanna listen to you fuck a hole in the wall, we'll hang out in my room where sometimes we happen to pass out in the middle of a movie.”

Now I see his fucking plan. Transparent bastard. He knows exactly how much she hates the idea of ever being just another one of my hit it and quit its because he knows Alexxa as well as I do. Fuck, sometimes I wonder if he knows her better. I didn't know she was a virgin, which is still fucked up news to me. My virgin senses weren't throbbing at all. I've had my fair of share of first timers, the actual ones
and
the ones who say it because they think that's what dudes wanna hear. Yet
he
knew. Yet she told
him
. What else has she told him, she hasn't me? Why the fuck does she trust him more? That's something else that needs to fucking change.

She leans in closer and giggles, “Oh my God, remember when we were watching 28 Days Later and I had that outbreak dream?”

Unaware of any of this, I lock my jaw in an attempt to keep from barking my disapproval.

“You couldn't go back to sleep until you were curled up on my chest like a damn cat!”

Alexxa's laughter fills the air. “Right!”

Suddenly, the conversation is invaded by Reggie, the guy who was grilling earlier who they beat at beer pong. “There's the champ. Feelin' better?”

She sweetly nods.

His eyes cut back and forth between us before he comments, “So she's
your
girl. I thought she was his.”

The final blow breaks me. “She's not
his
fucking girl. She's not sleeping in
his
fucking bed any more. She's
my
fucking girlfriend and if you don't keep your set of blazed eyes off her tits, I will not hesitate to knock you the fuck out.”

More fireworks crack like an applause for my outburst.

Unless we're on the court or on the field, I'm usually a pretty even tempered person. As far as women are concerned, I've never had a reason to be defensive. I've dealt with my fair share of ex-boyfriends to ex-husbands and it always ends the same way. You want the chick I'm banging? You can have her when I'm finished. There's always a replacement waiting to be tagged in from the bench. But this is fucking different. Alexxa's the exception. She's always the fucking exception.

“Either I'm not drunk enough or he's too drunk,” Reggie chuckles. “Either way that bullshit makes me want another drink.”

“Yeah,” Warren grunts and stands. “Me too.”

They wander off towards the keg while Alexxa's face sharply turns to me. After a beat or two, I turn to face the scolding I know I'm in for.

Maybe I overreacted a little. But this shit is fucking new to me. It's like I'm playing a new fucking sport the rest of the population mastered years ago and I'm still catching penalties for misunderstanding the rules. What happened to you being my coach? Couldn't have warned me about the attempted position I just took?

“Girlfriend?”

I give her a short shoulder shrug.

To my surprise she begins to smile. “Not enough points to get my mouth around your cock, but definitely enough to repeat last weekend’s actions.”

A short chortle comes out of her as I pull her in closer. “That's not why I said any of that shit.”

She moves her eyes up to the finale that's beginning. “I know.”

Before I have a chance to say anything else, she drops her head on my shoulder. My fingers slowly stroke her arm while I try to regain the lost composure. This is the day hundreds of years ago my ancestors gained their independence yet today I lost mine. I've never been a boyfriend before. Fuck, I've never even been an only one chick fuck guy before. It'll all be worth it and not just for the grossed out look on Warren's face as he washes my
sheets, which will be covered in sweat and cum, but because having Alexxa in my life, on my team, is much fucking better than
not
having her in it.

Alexxa

Luca grumbles to himself from behind his lap top on his side of my bed.

Normal work in progress sound. No need to be alarmed.

I continue to type a formal response email for my boss who's taken the weekend off.

Working on a Saturday is not one of my favorite things, but I can't exactly complain. When I was offered the job to replace his assistant, he knew my  during the week hours would be almost non- existent for the summer, which is why we agreed to a couple hours in the evening and at least part of the weekend.  It's strange to think about how in just a few weeks I'll be working weekends and holidays regularly, late nights and fuck early mornings. Not exactly sure how it'll affect my new relationship with Luca or my friendship with Warren for that matter, but I like to believe we can find a way to make it work. We always do. That's what real friends do. Lovers too, I assume.

My boyfriend grumps again and hits the delete button in a dramatic fashion.

Once I hit send, I sigh, “If you break the delete key, how will you ever erase your internet porn history?”

His lips curve mischievously as he turns to say, “I'm not an amateur, baby. Always open that shit in a secret window and have the automatic history erase set up to run as frequently as possible.”

“I know logically it should make me gag how sleazy you are, yet all it does is impress me how many chess moves ahead you're always thinking.”

He leans over and plants a small kiss on my lips. “Chess is a sport. I'm
really
fucking good at sports.”

“Yeah, but that's like a Warren style sport.”

“You mean a dork sport?”

“I meant a brain sport.”

“Same shit.”

With a roll of the eyes, I say, “Fine. Let's say it is. That still makes it a sport
not
for you.”

Luca shrugs. “Just because I don't
like
a sport doesn't mean I'm fucking bad at it.”

“Why else wouldn't you like it?”

“Because I prefer
team
sports. Not single man.”

“Why? Isn't a sport a sport?”

“That's like saying isn't a book just a book.”

Hold on now...

Luca hesitates before he continues, “Being on a team is like being a part of a huge family. Your teammates are your brothers, the coach like your father or your mother, and all the hot slutty cheerleaders the daughters of your father's best friend who you can bone guilt free.”

His last line causes me to shake my head.

“I was raised an only child. Getting to be a part of a unit, a part of something that requires more than one asshole to function, is something I've always enjoyed. Without siblings, sometimes shit would get lonely, but as long as I had a team, I had a family. I had somewhere I belonged. I had somewhere that wanted me. And the better player I became…”

“The more you felt wanted.”

“Exactly.” He clears his throat clearly uncomfortable by the subject we rarely discuss. “And when you have a father who can't stop working long enough to see your first t-ball game or see you enter the state champion hall of fame as a Freshman, the word want and need become interchangeable.”

The unexpected openness about his past, something he's always kept guarded under pads and helmet, persuades me to push him a little more. “When you got injured...was he there then?”

“Nope. When I tore my ACL he was in Vegas with a client celebrating his divorce settlement. When I fractured my tibia, he was on a cruise ship half way around the world wooing some old woman who was about to go through her fifth divorce.”

“Okay Elizabeth Taylor.”

Luca smirks.

Softly I question, “But you weren't even out of high school when all that happened...he didn't think maybe...I don't know, maybe you might
need
his help to get through all that?”

His face hardens. “I didn't.”

How long until I strike out and he shuts back down? Two? Three minutes?

“Ma' was there. My ma's always been there. She's always done the best she could.”

Someday I hope he lets me actually meet her.

“Anyway, it was after I realized my chance at the pros was ruined and I learned just how quickly a team can turn on you when they don't need you anymore that I found another
sport
I could excel at.”

On a heavy sigh, I shake my head. “Fucking is not a sport, Luca.”

He cocks a wide grin. “It is the way I do it.”

Not as flattering as he thinks.

“So you weren't a man whore before your injury?”

Luca shakes his head profusely. “Nope. I mean, I liked getting my dick touched as much as the next guy, but my focus was always on the game. Whatever sport. Whatever season. Everything else....came second. Sex became like rehab at first. Helped me forget the future I lost. Helped me forget about the so called teammates who left me out to fucking dry.” Suddenly there's a flash in his eyes as if it's just registering how deep into his head he's let me in. Without warning, he locks himself back up, and says, “And just for the record, I've beat Warren at chess. Three times.”

It was good to see behind the face mask while it lasted...

“Doesn't surprise me.” I shut my lap top. “His brother's like a regional champ or some shit.”

“Really?” Luca looks surprised. “Even his brother is a better competitor than he is?”

“Warren's just not that kind of guy. He's not good at competing.”

He mumbles something I don't catch under his breath.

Did you?

“Anyway.” My head nods the direction of his computer screen. “What's got you so pissy?”

“Trying to present the numbers in a favorable manner,” he replies and closes his laptop. “Child care and child sports, both have high profit margins, but high risk factors. If I simply put them in columns side by side, the eyes naturally draw themselves to the larger numbers despite what the information is
actually
saying. I need to figure out a better way to manipulate the mind into seeing what it is I'm actually trying to present.”

“Basically, you have to seduce them into believing what you want?”

“Pretty much.”

I replace the computer in his lap with my body. “Last time I checked you were really fucking good at seducing people, so I think you'll get it figured out.”

Luca wets his lips as his hands snake around to grip my ass. “Bout to seduce you right out of those panties...”

Leaning my face down to his I whisper, “Not wearing any.”

A hungry groan grumbles in his throat. “Fuck work. I've got something else that needs my fingers.”

With just a breath between us I add, “Or maybe your tongue...we haven't tried that yet.”

Heat soars through his expression and he yanks our mouths together by a tug of my shirt. As soon as our tongues touch, his dominates mine, capturing it before it can escape again, and punishing it for ever leaving in the first place. My hands tangle in the back of his thick hair. Luca's grip on my ass tightens. The moment his hands slips under my yoga shorts, it elicits a whimper from me.

His mouth drops to growl, “What did I tell you about making that sound, baby?”

Grinding against him, I lazily drag the tip of my tongue up the side of his neck, every tremor being absorbed by my anxious and willing pussy. “Do it more?”

Luca's finger starts to glide it's way home when the door flies open. “Alexxa do you wanna-” She huffs. “Oh. He's still here.”

Did I mention it's one thing when your best friends don't get along, but an entire other when your best friend
hates
your boyfriend. Wow. Still feels weird to say that word.

His hands slide out of my shorts to rest on my hips. He leans around me to say, “Hey to you too, Marie.”

She folds her arms firmly across her chest. “Surprised you've made it this long. Figured you would've cheated on her by now.”

Don't agree with her because I clearly
can't
agree with her. But come on now. Pretty sure the only other two things he's ever been this faithful to are sports and his commitment to working with kids. Not exactly a huge selling point, I know. I know. But you've seen his cock.
That
is.

Climbing out of his lap, I hide my snicker at the same time he says, “Glad to have your vote of support.”

“I wouldn't support you if you had the goddamn cure for cancer.”

“What's up, Marie?” I interrupt the building feud. “What'd you need?”

She glares at him and then moves her attention to me. “Grant and I were just about to go looking at furniture. Figured you might wanna join us and grab some new stuff for your condo.”

“It comes fully furnished.”

“Damn. That's right,” she sighs.

“Wait, your condo?” Luca questions. “What condo? When'd you get a condo?”

“Oh, she kept something from you? Guess you're not as close as you think you are.”

He flashes her his middle finger.

She returns the gesture.

“No thank you,” I speak loudly over the two of them. “But I appreciate you asking.”

“Enjoy bullying your boyfriend into domestication,” Luca says in a fake cheerful tone.

“Enjoy corrupting the woman you don't deserve,” she snaps before shutting the door behind her.

His eyes move back to mine. “She's always going to hate me, isn't she?”

“It doesn't help that when you first met, you slept with and never called the woman who became her boss two weeks later.”

Luca and I hadn't been friends for very long at that point. I was still learning he would screw anything with a good pair of legs. I invited him along to have someone to talk to since I knew Marie would be busy trying to make a good impression. Kinda backfired.

Luca grunts, “How was I supposed to know who she was?”

With a sarcastic head tilt, I question, “Did you ask?”

“I asked how hard she wanted it. You know, the important questions,” he rambles off. I roll my eyes at the same time he rolls his body over to cover mine. “Questions I'll ask you eventually. In the meantime...” Luca lowers his mouth to my ear, the heat reigniting the temperature Marie had managed to lower to a simmer. “You're gonna practice saying the only answer that matters.”

My breath hitches.

“And I want it in Spanish,” he purrs seconds before the tip of his tongue teases my lobe.

He rocks his hips and latches his teeth onto my neck. With a heavy moan, I curve into the action, eyes shutting while his tongue whirls around against the sensitive spot. Luca begins a languorous path of licks and sucks, removing my shirt and bra in the process. The moment my nipples are presented for tasting, he swiftly captures one between his teeth.

He tugs and I mewl, “Luca...”

With a crooked smile, he repeats the action on the other.

My hands run through his hair returning the gesture until the two of us are in a pleasure pendulum. He breaks first and moves his efforts further south, taking my shorts with him.