CHAPTER FOUR
Calvin
Memories of the night filled my mind like smoke in a burning building. It was toxic. What had I done? The soft dark hair that fell onto my pillow smelled of apples, and all I wanted was to bury my face into the nest of delicately scented tresses and push the mistakes of the night before away. You fucked up, Calvin. You fucked up real good!
I had to piss like a motherfucker, and my mouth felt like six cats had used it as a litter box, so I slid from the bed and gently closed the bathroom door behind me. Damn, I looked like hell, I realized as I squinted against the glare of the light.
After pissing, I stuck my entire head under the faucet and washed the sleep from my eyes. I brushed my teeth, gargled twice, and swiped some deodorant on my pits. I forced two Tylenol down my throat and drank a full glass of water. That was as good as it was going to get without a full shower.
Taking a last look at myself in the mirror, I was disgusted with what reflected back at me. How the hell did I allow myself to be pulled into that situation last night? Was I so fucking lame that I let hero peer pressure nearly cause me to cheat on my girl? One drink. It was supposed to have been one fucking drink, but I’d been too much of a pussy to walk away, needing their approval like I was some teenager.
Dammit.
I couldn’t do anything about last night, but I could do a shit load about today and the days after today. I would make it up to Whitney, make sure she never regretted moving here.
Starting now.
Turning off the light, I opened the door and headed back to the bed. Whitney hadn’t moved, and her breath was still deep and even. Sliding under the covers beside her, I stroked her hair, my fingers lingering in the smoothness of her locks as she gently tossed in her sleep. Her leg kicked out from under the sheet. It was so smooth, her skin so silky, and as I reached down to stroke her, she squirmed beneath the sheet and more of her delicious body was exposed.
I traced a finger over the outline of her pink panties, taking my time to run the line where her ass cheek met her thigh. She was wearing my t-shirt; it was loose and allowed me to slide it up her back without waking her. The deep curve of her back exposed, my finger slid to tickle her skin until reaching her neck. I leaned in, kissed her softly on the back of the head, my erection beginning to take control, causing me to forget that she may hate me right now. She was beautiful, the most beautiful girl I had ever known. I couldn’t lose her, not over one drunken night at the club.
“Good morning,” I whispered into her ear.
She stirred, turned towards me, and opened those beautiful green eyes. To my surprise, a smile appeared on her lips. My cock took notice of the green light and twitched in my boxers.
“Good morning,” she murmured as she reached her arms over her head and stretched.
I wanted to tell her how sorry I was, to beg for her forgiveness, but the fear of losing this moment kept any mention of the previous night out of the room. I pushed her hair from her face, and my lips quickly found their way to hers, so pink and full. Her body responded, her tongue gliding into my mouth, her back arching, and her leg wrapping around me to pull me closer.
“You brushed your teeth,” she murmured and reached up to run her fingers through my still damp hair.
“Yeah, my mouth felt like a sewer. I’ll probably have to burn that toothbrush.”
I shook my head, and droplets of water rained down on her. She laughed and took my face in her hands.
“Tell me that last night will never happen again.”
I met her eyes and raised her hand until it covered my heart. “Last night shouldn’t have happened, and it will never happen again.”
She licked her lips, and her eyes grew wet with tears. “Did you…?”
“No, I swear it. I was just sitting there when that girl jumped on my lap. I hadn’t even had time to react or push her off when you arrived.”
She blinked up at me. “And you were going to push her off?”
“Yes. It was just a messed up situation, Whit, and I’m sorry. It shouldn’t have happened.”
She pushed my hair back from my forehead. “No, it shouldn’t have. And if you do it again, I’ll cut your balls off.”
I laughed and felt myself going into full grovel mode when she ground her body into mine.
“Don’t apologize again,” she said sternly, “show me how sorry you are.”
I grinned down at her. “My pleasure.”
Sliding my hands down her warm, soft skin, I couldn’t wait to sink into her, but refused to rush the moment. I took her lips again, kissing her until we were both breathless, our tongues sliding together in a rhythm that was both familiar yet exciting.
She arched hard, pulling our lips apart and I quickly took advantage of the space between us, lifting the t-shirt up and over her head. My mouth engulfed her breast, sucked hard on her erect nipple, and teased it with soft flicks of my tongue.
Her hand slid between us, gripping my erection. Her thumb circled the head of my cock and she gently squeezed as she stroked my shaft. I reached for my boxers, pushing them from my body so I could feel flesh on flesh. I was slippery, pre-cum giving her a playfield around the tip as she continued to tease me. I reached between her legs, felt the satin of her panties until I found her clit beneath the material. She moaned as I worked my thumb over her until she began to push against me in a sweet motion.
“So beautiful,” I murmured.
I pulled away slowly, leaving my cock just out of her reach and knelt over her lush body. Her breasts gently lifted and dropped from her chest as her breathing became more rapid. Her ass lifted from the mattress, begging for me to continue my teasing. I’d missed her so much, thought about her body each night as I fell asleep and even jerked off to the dirty pictures she had sent me. I’d promised her I would delete them, but I couldn’t, not without her here.
Hooking my thumbs under the material of her panties, she bit her bottom lip, her green eyes smiling as I slid them down her legs and then to the floor. Her legs fell open, her plump lips swollen with excitement, her sex spread like a butterfly in flight. My finger traced her inner thigh. She squirmed and moaned. Damn, I missed this!
“What do you want?” I whispered as my finger slid between her pussy lips. She was wet and slippery inside, and my finger dipped in just to feel that tight grip and the warmth that radiated from between her legs.
“I want you,” she moaned, her body squirming harder and lifting towards my hand.
Those eyes were killers, filled with love and desire and an innocence that turned me on. She always blushed when I tried to get her to talk dirty to me. Damn, I loved that!
“What do you want me to do?” I asked softly.
She groaned and pushed her pussy harder onto my fingers, impaling herself on my hand. She was warm, tight, and so very wet. “I want you to fuck me,” she whispered. My cock twitched hard at her words, and I withdrew my fingers from inside of her, leaving her open and ready. Pushing her thighs wide, I settled between them, gripping my cock until I was nudging her entrance.
Home.
This was home, I realized. She was my home.
She cried out as I plunged deep inside of her.
The warmth of her body consumed me, the contractions of her pussy walls teased me and the sweet sounds of her moans made me want to come right then.
No, think of anything else, Calvin. Baseball, Aunt Edna, dill pickles. Ugh, I hate those!
Her hips rocked against me, her back arching and her breasts pushing upwards as I thrust deep into her, over and over. Lifting myself up, I sat back on my heels, watching our bodies connect. Lifting her feet to my shoulders, I changed the angle until she cried out, her body quivering, her pussy walls contracting and relaxing through an orgasm.
I gripped her breast, squeezed gently and then focused on the erect nipple that when touched ever so softly made her squirm before taking the pink tip into my mouth.
“I’ve missed you, baby,” I gasped against her flesh, kissing up her neck until our mouths met again. My balls tightened, and the blood rushed from my head. Her pussy contracted against me in an opposing rhythm that drove me over the edge. I moved faster, harder, pushing us both toward pleasure’s cliff.
She came again, and I growled, letting myself follow. “I love you,” I said against her lips.
Her big green eyes stared into mine; I knew what she was thinking. The pain was back in her eyes, and I knew she was flashing back to the image of me, a drunk dumbass with that blonde on my lap. I hated to see the pain in her eyes, but there it was, slapping me in the face.
Dumbass, dumbass, dumbass!
“I love you too,” she whispered.
I rolled us until we were facing each other, our legs tangled together, our bodies still connected, her breasts pressed against my chest. I wound my hand in her dark hair, pulling her towards me as I leaned into her. Our lips connected, our tongues intertwined, but the passion that was so strong earlier was now suddenly absent.
“We need to talk about last night.”
Again?
There it was, the thing I’d been dreading and hoping we’d moved past. I mentally cursed, and my cock shriveled up and worked its way out of her body without any resistance. I rolled to my back, let out a long sigh and struggled for what I could possibly say to make things better.
There was nothing. I already told her what happened and that I was sorry… wasn’t that enough?
Her finger traced the outline of my belly button. It tickled and made me flinch. “Calvin, we really need to talk,” she said softly.
Fuck. Damn. Shit.
No, I didn’t think that was necessary at all. What was there to talk about, really? Hadn’t we already said what needed to be said less than a half hour ago? Had she forgotten already? Was I going to have to grovel for days?
I rolled to my side, leaned in, and kissed her softly on the nose. “Baby, I know I fucked up,” I admitted. “It won’t happen again, I promise.”
I rolled toward the edge of the mattress and sat up with my feet on the floor. The feel of her hand on my back was warm but somehow caused cold chills to make me shudder. I stood up, walked into the bathroom and turned on the shower. Practice started in an hour and I had to go. Even if I wanted to, which I didn’t, there wasn’t time to talk. Not now. Especially after we’d already said everything that needed to be said. Hadn’t we?
After a quick shower, I pulled on a pair of basketball shorts and a t-shirt, stuffed my clothes for the day into my duffle, and leaned down to give her a kiss goodbye. “I’m going to be late for practice,” I stated and watched her beautiful green eyes fill with disappointment and pain.
My jaw tightened. She knew I had practice every day, so why the sad eyes? It was my job now. A great paying job that could buy her just about anything she wanted.
“What am I supposed to do?” she asked, her voice leaning toward a whine. I exhaled a long breath, then reached into my wallet and pulled out my gold card.
“Go shopping, see the city, come by practice if you want.” Please God, let that appease her. It was obvious it hadn’t when she refused to take the card from my hand. I set it on the bed beside her and apologized — again — for my actions. “We’ll talk tonight, I promise.”
A sinking feeling lodged in my heart as I walked down the stairs of my apartment building. The sunshine was bright and the day beautiful, but a gloom enveloped me that I just couldn’t shake.
How was I going to fix this? Could it even be fixed?
It was a relief to be in the locker room; chatter surrounded me and echoed off the walls. My mind was washed of the misery I left at home and now occupied with baseball, just baseball.
“Hey man, how are you doing?” Marty asked, his hand pushed hard on my shoulder. I turned and smiled, trying not to notice the real concern in his eyes. “I mean, she looked pretty pissed last night,” he continued to push my misery back into focus.
“Yes, she was pissed, but, we worked it out,” I lied.
“Glad to hear that. I worried all night that she left you in a ditch somewhere,” he said and then pounded a fist on my back again.
It was nice that he was concerned; he seemed like a good guy. Ace, on the other hand, was quick to make it clear how he felt. “There wasn’t anything to work out, she needs to get a grip on her emotions.” He spouted his opinion whether anyone wanted it or not. At the moment, I did not.
“She just got into town, I really shouldn’t have stayed,” I said, feeling the need to defend her. “She’s a good girl, she didn’t deserve that.” Marty patted me on the back and murmured what sounded like an agreement. Ace quickly puffed out his chest and made a face.
“You’re not just a man now, hot shot, you’re a Beast, and beasts have large appetites,” Ace roared, beating on his chest like King Kong as he spoke. He laughed and his lips curled into a crooked smile. “I told you having a girl isn’t a good idea. There are plenty of pussies ripe for the plucking. Why stay with one, especially when she’s trying to tame you?”
“Tame me?” I laughed and found my damn smile unable to control. His actions were funny as hell, and I still idolized this man, even if he did get me into a pile of shit last night with Whitney.
“Yes, sir, there is no taming the beast!” he boasted and jumped onto a chair near our lockers. “Who among us are men?” he shouted. Everyone stopped, looked in his direction. “Who among us are beasts?” he shouted even louder. Everyone roared as he spoke, and his arms rose high above his head, his body swaying slowly from side to side as if he were talking to his people, and he, of course, was their king. “I can’t hear you!” he screamed, directing his attention to me. “Are you a man or a beast, hot shot?”
The energy around me was contagious. “I’m a beast,” I said.
“A what?” he asked, cupping his hand to his ear.
“A beast!” I screamed out.
“Fuck yeah you are!” he shouted and hopped down from his pedestal.
Even Marty was smiling. Ace had a way of getting you fired up over anything. I was pretty sure he could get us all chanting about hemorrhoid cream if he wanted to.
Coach Griffin walked into the locker room with a clipboard in his hand and a whistle around his neck. He blew it twice to get everyone’s attention. I shook my head, thinking how much easier Ace got everyone quieted down than the coach. We went over the details of our practice and then he yelled for us to get out on the field.
We all spread out and stretched before pairing up to basically play catch before starting batting practice. The stands had several fans there to watch, including a beautiful blonde with large blue eyes. She stared at me so intently that it made me nervous.
“Looks like you got a fresh one on the line.” Ace slapped me on the back as he spoke.
I laughed it off and ran to my position, waiting for him to toss the ball. I could feel her eyes on me the entire time, even though I refused to look in her direction. Batting practice started, and I took my spot on the mound.
“Show me what you got, Malone!” she shouted and jumped up from her seat to cheer me on.
We had fans back in college, sometimes women who wanted to hook up with some of the better players in hopes of snagging them before they hit it big. But this… this was different, we were all big players now with large paychecks, and the women seemed much more aggressive than any I had experienced.
Keep your nose clean, Calvin. You’ve already fucked up once.
Ace made his way to the fence and leaned over to whisper something in a petite brunette’s ear. I watched as she giggled and blushed. He grabbed a bat and took his position at the plate, winking at me before swinging at one of my warm-up pitches.
The crack was deafening and the ball gone. I squinted, watching it soar past the outfielders and then past the fence. He was certainly a power hitter, but as he dropped the bat and moved back towards that little brunette, it was obvious he was more of a power player than anything else.
I knew I needed to stay away from him, but he was impressive, smooth, and charm oozed from his pores. He demanded attention and usually received it from whoever he wanted.