Chapter Twenty-Three
Cade
The first part of the new year passes quickly, and things with Serena are beyond good. We are in a great place with our relationship, and I’m happier than I think I’ve ever been. We’ve seen each other nearly every day over the last two weeks, and I’ve been able to get to know Alan more, too. We’ve spent some time at her place throwing a football around and, for a three-year-old, the kid is a natural. I am amazed at how good he is for his age. I even mentioned to Serena that she should think about getting him involved with a kid’s league.
On this January morning, nearly halfway into the month, I get up earlier than normal and head over to her place to have breakfast with her and Alan. We banter back and forth over pancakes, and it feels a little like we’re our own little family. It’s a feeling that makes me all warm inside. After breakfast, I help Serena by doing the dishes while she helps Alan gather his things, and then we walk outside together. I steal a quick kiss before she leaves to drop Alan off at daycare, and I head off to get in a workout. I’m disappointed I won’t see Serena again today, but I’m already working on something romantic for Valentine's Day.
Tyler is meeting me at the gym, and as I cross the parking lot, I spot him. He lifts a hand to wave when he sees me.
“Hey, man. You’re late,” he greets me.
“I’m not late. We said nine-thirty and it’s nine twenty-nine,” I insist.
“You’re always here before me, and I get here ten minutes early.”
“I came from Serena’s; traffic was worse than I anticipated.”
His eyebrow shoots up. “Serena’s? You spent the night at her place, finally?”
“No. We’re not quite there yet. I mean, Alan still thinks me and his mom are friends.”
“It’s been a month,” Tyler states.
“That’s not that long. She doesn’t want him to get confused, and I get it. What if this doesn’t work out?”
Tyler gives me a knowing look. “Do you see this not working out?”
“Well, no. I mean, I seriously like her.”
“You love her?” he questions.
“I don’t know.”
“But you see this as something serious?”
“Yes. It’s something serious to me.”
“Does she feel the same?” he asks.
“We haven’t really talked about it like that, but I think so.”
“You should have that conversation. Look, I understand not wanting to rush it or confuse her kid. That’s probably smart. But if you two haven’t had the talk, you should. And don’t fuck it up. Tamara really liked her. I did, too. She’s good for you.”
As we walk inside, our conversation switches over to the training we have planned for the day and we go to work. After our workouts, we drive over to the studio to film our commentary show. Our meeting with the producer before we shot for the day took a couple of hours and a little more than we’d planned. Shooting ran long after a problem with the microphones. When we finally finished taping, it was nearing eight at night.
Tyler left before me so he could get home to Tamara, and I finished up a few loose ends. Twenty minutes later, I walk outside to my car to head home. I have my phone in my hand, ready to call Serena on the drive, when I notice a figure leaning against my car. My steps falter and the physical reaction I have is immediate. My stomach turns and just like that, I feel a headache coming on.
“What the hell are you doing here, Josephine?” I bite out as I walk toward her.
She pushes off my car and moves forward, reaching out as if she might embrace me. She huffs when I sidestep her. “It’s been awhile, Cade. How about a hug?”
She holds her arms open. “No, thanks,” I say. She mumbles something under her breath, but I don’t care. I want her gone. “What do you want?” I haven’t spoken to her in well over a month, and I don’t want to be speaking to her now.
“I just thought it would be nice to catch up, Cade. It’s been so long. I miss you,” she says as she sidles closer, placing her hand on my arm. I push it away.
“You miss me?” I ask sarcastically.
“Of course. We’ve been together for such a long time.”
“No. We were together,” I stress, “but we’re not now.”
“I’ve been waiting for you, Cade,” she whines.
“Waiting for what?”
“For you, to realize how good we are together.”
I roll my eyes in disbelief. “We are terrible together, Josephine. I was miserable, and I’d bet my house you were, too. We fought constantly and went back and forth more times than any sane couple should. It took breaking up with you for good to realize just how awful you were.”
“How awful I am?” she screeches “How about how awful you are?”
“I will take full responsibility for my part in our relationship horror show, but it was toxic for both of us. I will not go backward, Jo. There will never be an us again. We’re done, and you should move on.”
“Who do you think you are, Cade Thomas?” she yells. “You’re just a washed-up football player, and I am Josephine Lowell. I am a fucking star, and you’re just a d-list has been. Screw you! You will never, ever find anybody better than me.”
“That's just it, though, Jo. I have found somebody better than you. And, I’m happy, ridiculously happy. I hope you’ll be this happy someday. And, that you can one day be happy for me, just like I would be happy for you if you were to find someone better suited for you.”
“You’re seeing someone?!”
“Yes,” I answer calmly. “I am.”
She screams with a fury I’ve never seen before, drawing the attention of the security guards who make their way toward us. I try to wave them back as Josephine lets loose.
“I will ruin you, Cade! You’ll be a laughingstock in this town when I’m finished! Whoever it is you’re seeing, I’ll ruin her, too.”
“Is that really necessary, Jo? We’re better off apart; why don’t you see that?”
“No one,” she hisses, stepping closer to me, “no one – not even you, Cade Thomas – dumps Josephine Lowell and gets away with it.”
“Mr. Thomas?” a security guard inquires as they approach us.
“You need to leave, Josephine, or these guys will forcibly remove you. I don’t think you want that kind of scene or publicity. Let’s just walk away today and forget all about each other. We’re both better off this way.”
She stomps her foot and lets out a guttural growl of frustration. “You will regret this, Cade. You will regret all of this,” she promises as she finally storms away.
I apologize to the security guards and get into my car. I’m so stunned by what has transpired that I just mull it over on the drive home, instead of making the call I had planned to make. Once I'm home, I go straight to my bedroom, strip down to my underwear, and sprawl across my bed to call Serena. She answers on the second ring.
“Hey,” she says quietly.
“Sorry; bad time?”
“No, you’re fine. I just put Alan to bed, and I’m walking out of his room.”
“How was your day?” I ask her, settling back onto the pillows.
“Just getting ready for the first day of classes tomorrow. I’ve got a full schedule. Did I tell you they added a second Physics at the Movies class this semester?”
“Congratulations, Serena. That’s amazing. I know how much that class means to you.”
“I’m really excited. How was your day?”
“I worked out with Tyler after breakfast. Filming got delayed today, so I left the studio really late.”
“Oh, I'm so sorry, Cade. Did you eat dinner?”
“Honestly? No. I just got home and really wanted to hear your voice. I’m so on edge, I didn't even think about eating.”
“Why are you on edge?”
I pull in a breath before answering. “Josephine was waiting for me when I left the studio. We had words. Well…she had words. I did good. I kept calm, but I think that she thought I was going to come crawling back again; the fact that I haven’t is killing her, in a narcissistic way, that is.”
She’s silent, and I am kicking myself for even mentioning it. “You know I don’t have feelings for her, right?” I assure her.
She sighs. “I know that it was all very complicated between you two.”
“It’s in the past, though. I promise you, Serena. You’re the only one I have eyes for. You’re the only one I have anything for. Just you. Only you. I hope you know how much I care about you and that you are very special to me.”
“We don’t know each other that well,” she tries to argue.
“I know you well enough to know that I want to do this with you, that I want to see where it goes. I want you in my life, Serena. You and Alan.”
“Cade,” she breathes out softly, and I can hear the hesitation in her voice.
“I like you more than I probably should, Serena, but I know what I feel. I want to be there for you. Will you let me be there for you?”
The other end of the phone line is silent for a moment as I wait for her response.
“Yes,” she finally whispers.
“Yes?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“So this, we’re in it together, me and you?” I ask.
“Me and you, Cade.”
“You have no idea how happy that makes me.”
“I might be able to guess.”
I chuckle. “How happy do you guess?”
“Hmm… About eleven inches.”
I sit up, a little surprised by her words…and a little turned on. I didn’t think that was going to be her response, but I definitely want to see where this is going now so I decide to go with it. “Is that right? So…what are you wearing?”
“Cade,” she giggles.
“I’m in my underwear, the blue ones you like.”
“Are you…” she trails off breathlessly.
“Hard? Damn straight, I’m hard.”
I hear a whimper in my ear, and I shift. Just the sounds she makes get me all worked up. “Tell me what you’re wearing, Serena.”
“I’m wearing your t-shirt, the one I took from your place last week and didn’t tell you. It’s so soft and worn in, and it smells like you.”
“Take a picture and send it to me.”
She doesn’t say anything, but I can hear her rustling through the phone before my phone dings in my ear to alert me of a new text message. I pull my phone away and put it on speaker before clicking to her text message, thanking everything holy for the invention of the smart phone.
Serena is lying in her bed; her hair is brushed to one side, and her eyes are downcast. She has her legs curled to the side and the hem of my shirt — a gray V-neck that I remember her wearing as we made breakfast last week — barely covers her in that position. Her nipples are two hard little peaks underneath the fabric, and I have never known a shirt to look that good before. I might buy stock in men's shirts for this woman.
“You’re so fucking gorgeous,” I tell her reverently. “Whenever we’re alone, I want you in just one of my shirts.”
She laughs softly. “That could be arranged. Now fair is fair. Picture up!”
I settle back against the pillows on my bed. I angle my phone so the screen shows my bare chest and I grab my dick through the cotton of my boxer briefs and smirk as I take the picture and then send it.
I hear Serena’s sharp intake of breath and then a breathy “Mmmm.”
I can’t resist asking. “What are you doing, baby?”
“Touching myself, wishing it was you,” she whispers.
My dick gets harder, if that was possible. “How wet are you?”
“So wet, Cade. And, it’s all your fault.”
I groan as she whimpers and moans in my ear, and I push my underwear down to grab my cock in my fist. “I want to hear you cum,” I tell her, closing my eyes as I picture her face, imagining her biting her bottom lip. “Hang on.” I hang up and call her back immediately on Facetime, I need to see her.
“Hearing you is great, but I’d rather see you cum,” I say to her I when her face fills the screen, cutting straight to the point. She blushes, and I change the camera view so she can see me stroking myself. “I’m halfway there, Serena, and my hand is a poor substitute for you.” She moans at the sight of my cock and shoves my shirt over her breasts, rolling a nipple between her fingers.
“Touch yourself,” I tell her. She nods, and her hand slides down her body and traces a finger over her clit.
“If you were here, you’d slide right in. That’s how wet I am, Cade.” She pushes a finger inside her and then a second, gasping. “My fingers don’t fill me like you do.”
I switch the camera back to my face and smirk, tugging my dick in rhythm with her fingers pumping in and out of her pussy. “I can’t wait to be with you and that tight little pussy of yours again. I’m going to fuck you senseless next time we’re together. And when you cum, it’ll be all over my face, and then my cock.”
“Cade,” she moans, her eyes fluttering closed. “Mmm.”
“Let me see you cum, Serena.” She pulls her fingers out of her pussy and rubs her clit. Her breaths come in short, little gasps, and I know she’s close. “Now. Cum for me, baby.”
At my command, she comes undone, whispering my name over and over as her back arches from the bed. She bites her lip to keep herself from being too loud, and her face is flushed. Watching her is all I need to fall over the edge.
“Fuck, Serena,” I groan as my release comes. There is only heavy breathing between us for several long minutes before I reach to the bedside table for a tissue.
“You have no idea the things you do to me, Serena Jacobs. I’ve never had phone sex before.”
She giggles. “I don’t believe you.”
“It’s true. You make me feel things I’ve never felt before. Done things I’ve never done before.” Her cheeks flush. “Are you blushing?” I tease her.
“I’ve never done that before, either,” she admits.
“I’m glad it was with me.”
“Me, too.”
“When can I see you?”
“Tomorrow? I don’t have classes during the morning the day after next. I can ask Ashley to keep Alan overnight.”
“An overnight date. I like the sound of that. So, seven tomorrow?”
“Seven,” she agrees. “Goodnight, Cade.”
“Sweet dreams, Serena.”