Page 74 of Reckless Love
“Elle. Talk to me, love. Tell me you’re here with me.”
“I’m here,” I cry. “With you.”
White dances over my vision and my eyes scrunch closed, tears rolling down my face as my body experiences pleasure like it never has before.
“Rhodes,” I moan. “I—can’t wait.”
“You’re doing so good…taking me perfectly.” He hisses when I clench around him, groaning. “Elle, it’s never felt like this.”
His words stoke the fire in me and I crash and detonate. He lifts my back against his chest, holding me tight against him as we both fall apart. Tiny explosions erupt through me and he holds me through it all, his own raspy groan the most satisfying sound.
Finally, my body is limp and he lays us down, spooning me for a minute while we catch our breath. Then he leans over to see my face and I turn until I’m on my back. My hand winds around his neck and we stare at each other…
Entire books are spoken without us saying a word.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CROSSED WIRES
RHODES
Then
I dialedElle’s number and waited. Still no answer. Dammit. We were supposed to FaceTime tonight and I’d been running late. There was a long press conference after the game and I couldn’t text her to let her know.
Lately,that had been happening more often than I liked. More often than not, it was my fault. Not intentionally. But my schedule had become a beast. Our team was doing well, which meant more exposure all the way around. I’d played for the Dolphins for a few years but I still hadn’t acclimated to Miami.
If I wasn’t playing or training, I was at charity events or speaking at schools. And when my coach and team didn’t have me working overtime, my agent, Bob, did.
It had been weeks since I’d talked to Elle. The void felt like a massive crater had been hollowed out in my chest.
I was tired, and I needed to see her. It had been too long. We tried to not let three or four months pass without seeing each other. Even if it was just for a night when I played in Denver, her coming to see me for a weekend, or us meeting in California at my parents’. Her schedule had been busy too. We hadn’t seen each other in over six months and our calls and texts had become less frequent too.
I tried her again and got hopeful when my phone buzzed. Diego. I groaned.
Diego
Are you coming to the bar or what?
Not tonight, man. I’m exhausted.
Diego
There are some fine ass girls here, dude. They’re asking for you.
I ran my hand over my face. Going out had helped to take my mind off of missing Elle at first, but it had lost its appeal for a while. It was getting old, working my ass off and then going out drinking with my teammates and meetingwomen who only cared about me because I was famous. It was easy. There was always someone everywhere I went, ready to party, flirt, and spend a few hours in a hotel room as an escape.
I never saw myself becoming this person, but sometimes the loneliness was consuming. Other times I thought, why the hell did I care if the tabloids portrayed me as the biggest player out there? I was single and it wasn’t hurting anyone.
In college, I’d hoped Elle would see the girls flirting with me and realize she wanted me after all, but she never did. She had months-long relationships and I had to endure watching her hold hands with the guys, lean into their shoulders, stand up on her tiptoes and kiss them…and it killed me every time.
Lately, it felt like the only one my lifestyle was hurting was me.
“Fuck, answer your phone, Elle.”
When she didn’t, I went on Instagram to see if her stories told me anything. As always, I got a little rush of adrenaline when I saw that she’d shared something and clicked her picture. She was at a club in Denver with Calista, her best friend from Silver Hills. They were dancing with a few other girls, and Elle looked like a smokeshow in a tight, hot pink dress. Damn, how did she just get better and better?
My eyes narrowed on the guy leaning close to her in the next frame. I’d seen him in her stories before. Who was this joker?