Page 91 of Coach Sully
“Sully.” I look at him. “You don’t have to keep doing this stuff. I’m doing okay, really.” I believe it. The more I’ve sat and thought about it, the more I see this as a way to challenge myself to take the next step. Like when a wildfire ravages a forest. It’sdevastating but necessary for new growth. That’s what this is. Devastating but necessary.
“I know I don’t. I want to.”
I shake my head with a smile. “Well, since we’re here…” I pop the handle on the passenger door.
“That’s my girl.”
Sully runs around the front of the car to help me out. I accept the help because even though I’m not waddling yet, I’ll take any excuse for him to touch me. He holds the door to the shop open for me. “This reminds me of Florida,” I say.
He looks behind us, to the cold city street with small snow piles along the edge.
“What?” His brow furrows and I laugh.
“Not the weather, just… this. Being together without it being some big secret, ya know? It’s nice.” It’s the silver lining to all this. I get Sully to myself. I don’t have to share him with other unsuspecting women. He’s mine in record shops and grocery stores, not just private residence rendezvous. I walk toward the rows of brown cardboard boxes housing the used albums, with his hand in mine.
“Wow. Yeah. Guess that means I get to do things like this, then, huh?” He retracts his arm, tucks me into his chest, and kisses me as if he just came home from war. His palm cradles my neck as he licks the seam of my lips, and I automatically open up for him. I can’t breathe or think. It’s pure manipulation when he nips at my lower lip. Finally, I remember we’re in public and laugh, concealing my blushing cheeks against his chest. This man’s mouth makes me dizzy.
“No, you can’t kiss me like that in public.” I laugh nervously. “It’s indecent!”
He presses his lips to the top of my head and mutters, “Most of my thoughts about you are.”
I shake my head at his boldness, then grab his hand and drag him along. “Come on, buy me some new music.”
We flip through the selection. I’m looking to add more rock to my collection.
“Shit, I forgot to ask you, do you think you can get me seats behind the bench for Thursday’s game?” I love watching him coach.
“You don’t want to sit in the box? It’s comfy up there.”
I roll my eyes. “Hell no, I want to be by all the action.” Seeing him all focused and yelling like that turns me on like no other. I shiver just thinking about it. My man is a Norwegian god, seeing him all authoritative and commanding in a fitted suit—at six-foot-five—is the hottest foreplay. Good lord.
He chuckles. “Yeah, I think I can hook you up… it’s going to cost you though.”
Resting a hand on my hip, I raise one eyebrow at him.
“You heard me,” he says, doubling down. “Payment due up front.”
My teeth dig into my lower lip as I resist squeezing my thighs together. What a hardship that will be… I love the way his eyes roam over my body. Having my body change shape hasn’t deterred him, if anything he’s become more attracted to me. He’s insatiable. If this playful happiness is what I get in exchange for losing my job, then I’ll get fired a hundred more times. He’s worth it.
I return to perusing the albums until I come across a winner. “Oooh! Lou Reed! Can I get this one?”
“Whatever you want, baby girl.”
Sully has been spoiling me rotten since he got home from Boston. Most of that afternoon was spent talking and ended with his face between my thighs. Besides that part, nothing has made me forget I no longer have a job, but the distraction of all his other methods of treating me definitely helps.
Today, he picked me up from my lovely prenatal massage, and I left feeling so relaxed and cozy I practically collapsed onto the sofa when we got back home. He’s nestled in beside me. One thing I love about Sully is that he always naps with me when I’m tired. We’ve perfected our spot on the couch together. I never sleep as soundly as I do when I’m in his arms. The fireplace crackles across the room as the speakers croon out John Coltrane.
Sully’s chest evenly rises and falls, telling me we’re both on the edge of sleep, then my phone rings. We jerk in surprise. I feel terrible that it interrupted the nap he desperately needs after all the games, practices, and traveling he’s been doing.
“Shit, I’m sorry!” I grab it quickly, hoping to silence it when I see Pierce’s name on the screen. “Oh…”
I swipe my finger across the screen to answer. It’s probably some offboarding paperwork that needs signing or something.
“Hello?” My brow furrows.
“Hey! How are you doing?”
I swallow. “I’m all right.”