Bright morning light filtered in through the curtains as I opened my eyes to the sound of Gran and Gramps placing dishes and silverware on the kitchen table. My room was closest to the kitchen, so whenever they banged around in there, it always woke me up. For a second, I was reminded of my high school days, when the smell of Gran’s fresh-cooked waffles would waft down the hallway before school. With a smile, I remembered what day it was and focused my attention on the blonde hair splayed across my arm.
My wife, Cassie, lay curled up next to me, her ass pressed tightly up against my groin.
My wife.
Someone actually loved me enough to not only put up with my shit, but to agree to put up with it for the rest of her life. She was probably insane on some level, but I’d take it. Whatever kept this woman by my side was fine by me. I wasn’t sure what it was about being married, but the pieces that used to spin out of control inside me actually felt settled now. Knowing that Cassie had vowed to be mine forever filled me with a sense of comfort I’d never known I was missing.
In that moment, I felt like I could do anything. I could put on a cape, sprout some wings, and save the whole fucking world if I wanted to. And the best part was, the girl by my side wasn’t going anywhere. She’d sew a J on that cape and watch me fly if I asked her to.
How did I just revert to a twelve-year-old with superhero fantasies? Fucking loser.
I reached my arm around Cassie’s bare waist, my fingers exploring the side of her body I couldn’t see. She moaned and my dick throbbed to life.
“Good morning, wife,” I whispered against her face, before kissing the lobe of her ear and sucking it into my mouth.
Cassie moaned again before turning to face me, her gorgeous green eyes beaming. “Good morning, husband.”
Husband.
Fuck yeah, I’m your husband. I think that means I’m legally allowed to kill anyone who fucks with her, right? Right.
Leaning down, I pulled her lower lip between my teeth and nibbled playfully. Without warning, I pushed my tongue into her open mouth, moving it in sync with hers. I fucking ached to be inside her. Literally. Fucking. Ached.
“I need you,” I breathed out between kisses.
Her hands reached for my lower back, her fingers pulling at my skin to move me into position on top of her. I did as she silently asked, and she pushed her knees apart in welcome. “I guess that’s a yes?” I joked, sliding inside her before she changed her mind.
“Oh God, Jack,” she moaned, then bit her lip. “Go slow.”
“Jesus, Cassie. Do you know how hard it is to go slow when you feel this fucking good?” I attempted to manage my thrusts, but my dick was uncooperative. Like it had a mind of its own, it betrayed the commands from my brain. “I’m sorry, babe, but it won’t listen.”
She giggled underneath me as a line formed between her eyebrows. “What won’t listen?”
“My dick,” I breathed out.
Her hips moved beneath me, rising and falling in perfect time against me, with me, whatever. “I’m not going to last,” I warned, trying my best to slow the inevitable.
Those beautiful green eyes met mine before she gripped the back of my neck and pulled my mouth to hers. Our tongues explored each other with increasingly frantic desperation. I moved in and out of her perfection, my hard-on growing with each thrust.
“I feel you getting bigger inside me.” Her breath was hot against my mouth. “It’s such a turn-on, Jack.”
“You really shouldn’t have said that.” Those words were all it took to send me over the edge. With one last thrust, I lost myself inside of her. Cassie’s mouth fell open as pleasure coursed through her body. I watched as she found her own release and shuddered when it was done.
“God, you’re beautiful. I love you so much,” I said as I ran my fingers through her hair.
She smiled and said, “I love you too. Always,” and I was instantly reminded of how lucky I was to have her.
“Always,” I agreed. “We should get up. I smell Gran’s cooking and they’re already in the kitchen.”
Face flushed, she buried her head into my pillow. “Do you think they heard us?”
I laughed. “They didn’t hear us. But we’re married now, so we can do this stuff.”
“Jack! Don’t be disrespectful.”
“Me? You’re the disrespectful one,” I teased before planting a kiss on her forehead. “Now get up. Unless you plan on eating breakfast naked. Honestly, I don’t think Gramps would mind. Or Dean.”
Her face twisted in mock horror and she smacked me playfully. “You’re disgusting.”
A little while later, we settled into our seats at the table and I noticed Dean heading our way. I palmed a blueberry muffin and waited. He walked through the entryway and I hurled the muffin.
“Seriously?” He looked down to see the crumbled pastry at his feet.
“Jack! Don’t throw food!” Gran scolded and I shrugged.
“Nothing says good morning like a muffin to your gut,” I teased and Cassie swatted me in the arm.
Dean’s eyes narrowed. “Hit him harder next time, Sis. Like this.” He walked over to me and socked me square in the right shoulder.
The chair screeched as I scooted out of it and chased after my little brother. He ducked and weaved throughout the kitchen, Gran yelling in the background and Gramps laughing at our antics, before I finally caught him and started whaling on his shoulders.
“Stop hitting me, you dick!” Dean yelled as he attempted to pull his shirt from my grasp.
“Don’t hit me in front of my wife.” I released the death grip I had on his clothes and watched as he stood up straight, brushing off his bicep where I’d just hit him.
“You just wanted an excuse to say that.”
“Say what?” I mocked with fake confusion.
“Wife.” Dean looked over at Cassie for support, who watched us with a grin on her face and shook her head, refusing to get involved.
“Stop acting like you’re twelve again and eat some breakfast,” Gran insisted.
“Yeah, Jack. Stop acting like you’re twelve.” Dean shoved me before running to his seat and slamming his ass down.
“You two are ridiculous,” Cassie remarked. “This smells amazing, Gran. Thank you so much.”
“You’re welcome. I’m just so happy to have you all here,” Gran said with a smile before placing full plates of food at the center of the table.
Dean lifted a waffle with his fork and I swatted at it with mine, causing it to fall on the table. “You’re such a jackass,” my brother whined.
“Dean! Language.” The scolding from Gran had become all too familiar whenever we were together.
“He was being a jackass, hon,” Gramps noted and I stifled a laugh.
A voice called out from the front door, and I noticed Dean stop midbite when he realized it was Melissa. “Knock-knock! Anyone home?”
“Yay! Melis!” Cassie jumped up from her seat and ran out of the kitchen as Dean glared across the table at me.
“You could have warned me she was coming over.”
I shrugged and shoved a bite of waffle in my mouth, mumbling around it, “Didn’t know.”
“Liar.”
“It’s not my fault you two can’t get your shit together, so don’t get all PMS’y on me like a little bitch.”
“Jack!” Gran said sharply. “Apologize to your brother right now.”
Gramps pinned me with a disapproving look over his glasses. “That was uncalled for.”
I chewed my food extra slowly, my gaze never leaving Dean’s. “Sorry,” I mumbled before narrowing my eyes and adding, “that you can’t make the girl fall in love with you.”
Dean shook his head and looked away as he finished the bite in his mouth with a scowl.
My beautiful wife walked back into the kitchen with her fun-sized best friend, Melissa, following close behind.
“Hi, everyone,” Melissa said cheerfully.
Gran gave her a big smile. “Good morning, dear. Are you hungry? Let me grab you a plate.” She started to stand but Cassie stopped her.
“I’ll do that. You eat.”
Melissa pushed Cassie toward her chair and shook her head. “I already ate, but thank you.”
“So, Fun-Size, did you have a good time yesterday?” I asked suggestively, trying to get her to admit she actually liked my brother as more than a friend. Dean froze and tipped his head to the side, obviously waiting to hear her answer.
She stared straight at him as she spoke without blinking, “It was the most fun I’ve had in a long time. How about you?”
I laughed. “Considering I married the girl of my dreams, I’ll say I had more than just fun yesterday.”
Melissa slid into an open chair at the table and asked, “So, when are you guys leaving?”
“Our flight leaves tonight at nine,” Cassie answered, her voice deflated.
“Why can’t y’all just stay forever? Screw New York!” Melissa shouted in an overly animated voice, and I noticed Dean rubbing his temples.
“What’s the matter, Dean?” she asked with a laugh. “Head hurt?” She tilted her head as she goaded him playfully.
He glared at her and gave her a sharp nod before turning to me. “You can’t stay any longer, can you?”
I swallowed the food in my mouth, half-wishing my answer could be yes. “We have to get back so I can get ready for the pre-season. I feel like I haven’t thrown in forever, and I need to work out. You know how I get in January.”
Being a major league baseball player probably didn’t appear like it would be that difficult from the outside. But I worked my ass off for the majority of the year. During the off-season, I still had to work out, stay in shape, and keep myself healthy. Not to mention the fact that I had to start mentally preparing myself for the season months before it actually started, which basically meant I sort of checked out from everything else. Cassie has had to learn to deal with an absentee boyfriend, whether mentally or physically, most of the time. And now I’ll be an absentee husband.
“Sucks you’re so far away,” Dean added before reaching for his glass of orange juice.
“You can come visit us anytime, Dean. Just let us know. We’d love to have you,” Cassie said with a smile.
“Thanks, Sis.”
“What about me? Can I come visit anytime?” Melissa cocked her head to the side and Cassie rolled her eyes.
“No,” she said before laughing. “Of course, dummy. Actually, you and Dean should visit together sometime.”
She winked and I seconded the suggestion. “You two should definitely come out together.” Dean’s shoulders tensed noticeably as a grunt escaped his lips.
Despite how much I razzed him, I wanted to help my brother get the girl. Yesterday I had caught them hooking up before our wedding, and if I could do anything to get them together once and for all, I’d do it. The boy deserved to be happy.
Gran changed the subject before I could ask any more questions. “Speaking of Dean and traveling,” she said, “when do you start at the agency?”
“Yeah, bro,” I asked as I kicked Dean under the table. “What’s up with you and my agents?” My agents, Ryan and Marc, had offered Dean a job at their sports management company as soon as he graduated.
“It’s part-time now, but I start full-time at the end of May,” he said with a smile.
“What will you be doing exactly?”
“I’ll be a junior agent. They’re going to teach me the ropes when it comes to dealing with guys like you.” He gave a slight head nod in my general direction.
“Good luck with that,” Cassie said with a snicker.
“But I’ll mostly be researching at first. I’ll be looking at new talent for the guys to check out. It’s going to be a lot of computer work and apparently I’ll be the local contact for any of the players or their families.”
“For everything, or just certain things?” Cassie asked.
Dean shrugged. “I don’t know yet. I’m sure there will be questions I can’t answer, so maybe just helping facilitate their moves if they get traded, or talk about the trade deadlines and stuff.”
Warming up to the subject, Cassie asked, “Do the families call a lot?”
“You have no idea,” he said, shaking his head. “Not everyone understands the business side of things, so sometimes they get really frustrated. I have to literally explain every single thing to them that they don’t quite grasp.”
Cassie’s eyes grew wide as she inhaled audibly. “I bet those are some fun and long calls.”
Dean nodded. “I was on the phone for over two hours the other day with the wife of one of your ex-teammates.”
“Who?” I asked.
“One of the outfielders for the D-backs. She was concerned about him not getting a long-term extension after last season and wanted to know how that would affect his playing time and reaching the full pension package. I had to explain the entire business side of things to her and I think she was still confused. She’s obsessed with the pension.”
Gramps dropped his fork and it clanged against the table. “Sorry,” he said as he picked it up with a funny look on his face. “How many seasons do you have to play before you get the pension?”
“To get full pension benefits, you have to play for ten full seasons.”
“What happens if you get hurt before then, or if you can’t play all ten?”
Dean sucked in a breath. “Then you only get a partial pension, but it’s way more complicated than that. Your contract terms, the number of years you signed for, it all comes into play.”
“Oh, enough of this talk. Let’s let the kids have some time together before they leave.” Gran pushed back from her chair and started collecting her dishes and the plates closest to her.
“Let me help, please?” Cassie asked and Gran swatted at her hand.
“No, dear. You’re a newlywed. Go spend your honeymoon with your friends,” she said with a wry laugh as we filed out into the living room.
The rest of the afternoon flew by as we hung out with Dean and Melissa. Before I knew it, Cassie was reminding me we needed to pack our things and say our good-byes. I hated leaving, but at least I wouldn’t be alone. I’d never be alone again.