34. Such A Brat
34
SUCH A brAT
SETH
After three losses while we were on the road, our winning streak has ended, and the trip home on Tuesday afternoon was a somber one. It had been a long stretch of wins, and we’d become complacent.
Not to mention, as soon as we lose a game, the rabid fans scream for a change in management, or demanding players are traded. It gets old, quick.
I let myself into my house and drop my gear bag in the laundry, determined to deal with it tomorrow. All I want right now is a hot shower, a beer, and to see Kylie. We have a few days before our next home game and I just want to hang out with her, without having to think about game stats and boosting team morale.
Once I’m showered, I jump in my car and drive to her grandparents’ place, excitement brewing deep in my belly. It’s been years since I’ve felt butterflies when seeing someone, and even then, it never felt this good. There’s just something about Kylie that feels like coming home. I don’t know what it is, but I want to cling to that feeling for as long as possible .
Pulling up out the front, her grandfather has the door open before I even make it to the sidewalk, and I can tell he’s set on having a chat with me before we leave.
Steeling myself for the inevitable “what are your intentions with my granddaughter” conversation, I shake his hand and he steps aside to let me in.
“That was some bad luck on the road trip, young man.” He shuts the door behind me, and I nod.
“Yes, sir. It wasn’t our finest. But we’re still having a stellar season so far. I’m confident we’re still on track for the playoffs again this year.”
He nods, then clears his throat.
Here it comes .
“So. I hear that you and Kylie met in Europe, and she didn’t know who you were. I hope your intentions with my granddaughter are above board.”
And there it is.
I nod again. “Yes, sir. I have no intention of doing anything that would hurt her.”
“Grandpa, I hope you’re not giving Seth a hard time?” Kylie appears at the top of the stairs, her jacket over her arm and a backpack hanging from one shoulder.
With her hair down and her toque pulled low over her ears, she looks adorable in her jeans and oversized sweatshirt.
“We’re just chatting,” I reply, while her grandfather looks chastened.
“I’m sure you are,” she says, levelling her grandfather with a knowing look when she reaches the bottom of the stairs, before turning to me. “You ready?”
“Yep. Have you got everything?” I take the jacket and help her into it, slinging the backpack over my shoulder.
It’s deceptively heavy .
“Sure do. Let’s go. Grandpa, I’ll see you later.” She gives him a kiss on the cheek, and I hold the door open to let her go first.
Once the door is closed, I pull her back, threading my fingers through hers. “You look gorgeous, by the way.”
She grins up at me. “Too scared to say that in front of Grandpa?”
“Definitely.” I give her a quick kiss before leading her towards the car.
As I open the door, a squirrel races across the yard next to us and runs up the large tree in front of the house.
“Oh my gosh! I love squirrels! Wait a minute.” Pulling her phone out, Kylie heads towards the tree, snapping photos of the little squirrel.
After she’s taken several hundred, she pockets her phone and heads back over to me with a grin.
“I promised Bri I’d take photos of squirrels and send them to her at all hours of the day. Them and chipmunks.”
I cock my head. “I know you guys have pretty cool creatures in Australia. I hadn’t thought about it going the opposite way and you all go crazy over squirrels and chipmunks.” I hold the door open for her.
“How can you not go crazy over squirrels? Have you got something against cute, furry creatures?” she asks, hands on hips.
I laugh, pulling her close and kissing her forehead. “Nope, I am completely onboard with the furry creature love.”
She grins up at me. “Good, I suppose I’ll come home with you then.” She climbs into the car, and as soon as I get the engine started, she is fiddling with the seat warmer, shivering dramatically. “So, when we get to your place, I need to video chat with Tara. It’s the only time we’ve been able to find that works for us both.”
I laugh a little. “That’s fine. You can tell her how cold you are.”
She pokes her tongue out. “Whatever, it’s freezing.”
We chat easily on the drive back to my place, and she entertains me with stories of her first tour group, and a disastrous attempt to learn how to drive on the ‘wrong’ side of the road which ended in her grandfather banning her from using his car ever again and a slightly dented front bumper. Apparently, she hadn’t even made it out of the alleyway before she’d hit a garbage bin on the right that she claims jumped in front of the car.
“I can take you out, if you want?”
She raises an eyebrow. “In this? Hell no, I won’t be responsible for damaging a car that is worth more than I earn in a few years.” She purses her lips and shakes her head quickly. “You’ll just have to deal with driving me around, buddy.”
I laugh and reach across to take her hand, kissing the back of it. “I can handle that.” I hold her hand in my lap, driving with one hand. “So, have you spoken to Tara much since you’ve been here?”
She shakes her head. “No. I’ve not talked to anyone back home except for my brother.”
“That’s nice. I’m sure he’s missed you.” We reach my house, and I grab Kylie’s bag from the backseat before following her inside.
Once she’s taken off her shoes, she grabs her bag and heads for the living room while I get us a snack from the kitchen.
“How have you got food here? Didn’t you just get home?” she asks when I enter the room, setting her laptop up on the coffee table.
I guess that explains why her backpack was so heavy.
“I had my housekeeping service get an order of groceries.”
She looks at me, shaking her head. “We definitely live in different worlds.”
I hand her a bowl of fruit salad and yoghurt and take a seat next to her. “Well, I didn’t want to waste any of our time together doing grocery shopping.” I sling an arm along the back of the couch behind her and twirl a lock of her hair around my finger.
She leans into my side and wraps an arm around my waist while I press a kiss to her temple. This just feels so comfortable. I wish I could come home to her every day .
Jeez Seth, slow it down. You’ve only been on a few dates with her. I shake off the ridiculous thought and sit quietly while she dials Tara.
After a few rings, Tara’s face fills the screen, and she smiles. “Hey!” She squints. “Whoa, Seth?!”
I raise a hand. “Hey, Tara.”
“Um… I have many questions.”
I look down at Kylie. “Did you not tell her anything?”
“I really, really wanted to see her face when she saw you,” Kylie says, giggling when her best friend stares at us both.
“You’re such a brat.” I kiss the side of her head again and get to my feet. “I’ll let you two talk without me hanging around. I get the feeling Tara is going to want details.”
“Tara most certainly does!” Tara calls out, just as a blonde woman joins her on the screen.
“Oh, babe, wait.” Kylie grabs my hand and tugs me back down beside her. “I want you to meet Bri first.”
I don’t think she even realised she said it, but hearing her call me ‘babe’ gives me a little boost. “Hi, Bri. Nice to meet you.” I wave again.
“Hi Seth. Nice to meet you, too.” She smiles and waves back.
“Alright, you can go away now so we can grill Kylie for details.” Tara makes shooing motions with her hands and I laugh, getting back up again, bending to give Kylie another quick kiss before heading to the laundry.
I figure I might as well deal with my kit while she talks to her friends.
“What the hell, Kyles? You kept that quiet.” Tara’s voice follows me down the hall, and I laugh a little, shaking my head.
I guess Kylie is okay with everything now, if she’s having fun surprising her friends with my presence.
After a while, Kylie comes searching for me .
“Was that fun?” I ask, pulling the laundry door closed behind me so she doesn’t have to deal with the smell of my sweaty gear.
“Extremely. They both had to start work. Also, Tara says she’s going to smack both you and Lincoln for not telling us.” She wraps her arms around my waist.
I hold her close, enjoying the feeling of her in my arms. “Probably a good thing she’s on the other side of the world, then. I’ll tell Linc he should call her. He can charm anyone.”
“That’s true.” She looks up at me. “So, what are we doing?”
“Well, I wasn’t sure what you felt like doing, but I thought maybe just a movie on the couch?”
She leans in to me again. “That sounds perfect.”
But we don’t make it past the first ten minutes of the latest Marvel movie before she’s straddling my lap. Her lips press frantically to mine while she tries to tug my shirt over my head.
“Did I mention I missed you?” she asks, kissing the side of my neck, grazing my skin gently with her teeth.
I inhale sharply. “Not in the last twenty minutes.”
She grinds against me, driving me crazy while I pull her sweater and shirt off. I can easily suck one nipple and then the other into my mouth without needing to bend because her breasts are perfectly positioned in front of my face, and she sighs, reaching around to undo her bra and give me better access.
We spend the rest of the evening alternating between having sex and attempting to watch the rest of the movie. By the time it finishes, I’m exhausted. It’s been a long week, and all I want to do is curl up in bed with Kylie by my side.
“Stay the night?” I ask, running my hand up and down her bare back while we lay naked on the couch, her head on my chest and her leg slung over my hips, her eyes half closed while she stares at the TV.
She lifts her head to look at me. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.” I run my hand right up her back and clasp the back of her neck .
She moves up to kiss me softly. “Okay.”
She settles back down and is asleep within minutes. I watch her breathe, marvelling again at how we ended up here and wanting to cling to this feeling for as long as possible. Cause I’m not ready for this to be over.
The next morning, I wake to an empty bed, and for a heart stopping moment, I think Kylie has left without saying goodbye. But a quick survey of my room shows that she must still be here somewhere, her things scattered on the floor on her side of the bed.
When I can’t find any trace of her anywhere in the house, I head out to the pool house, seeing the light on. Letting myself in, I find her running full tilt on the treadmill, her earphones in. She’s wearing one of my Mounties shirts over the smallest running shorts imaginable, her hair piled on top of her head. Even though she’s worked up a sweat, the joy on her face is clear. She’d mentioned wanting to use my treadmill, and seeing how happy she is right now, while wearing my shirt, does all sorts of crazy things to my insides.
She finally notices me and slows down. “Good morning,” she says, chest heaving, while she watches me move closer.
She raises an eyebrow when I reach over and turn the treadmill off.
“I was really looking forward to waking up next to you this morning,” I reply, leaning on the side of the machine.
“Oh really. And why’s that?” she asks, flashing me a smile.
I reach over and pull her closer. The height of the treadmill means I don’t have to bend to kiss her, and I wrap my arms around her waist while crushing my lips to hers. Something about seeing her so flushed and breathless from her run has my heart racing, and I don’t hold back, showing her just how much I want her. I still have one condom left in my pocket, left over from yesterday’s sexathon on the couch, and all I can think about is using it immediately.
“Someone’s eager this morning,” she whispers against my lips.
“You have no idea.”
She reaches down to rub me over my sweatpants, grinning when I hiss. “I don’t know. I think I have a pretty good idea.”
I claim her lips again, kissing her hard while I slip a hand inside her tiny shorts. She gasps when I circle her clit, gripping her waist tighter to keep her upright. She moans when I slide one finger, then a second, inside her, lifting her leg to wrap around my waist and give me better access. Her breath comes in short, quick pants while I bring her to the edge. Before she comes, I pull my hand away, and she lets out a whine, which makes me chuckle.
“Not yet,” I say, pulling her shorts and underwear down before kicking my sweatpants off.
Digging out the foil wrapper, I roll the condom on while watching her sway slightly in front of me, her eyes tracking the movement of my hand hungrily. Grabbing her hips again, I lift her off the treadmill, carrying her a few steps before push her back against the wall, her legs coming around to grip my waist tightly.
We both sigh together when I slide inside her, kissing her again while I begin to thrust slowly. I feel her tighten around me, the orgasm I had denied her moments before racing to overcome her, and I shift my hips to give her extra friction against her clit. She cries out, her head falling back against the wall and her eyes flutter closed. It’s not long before my own release follows, and I shudder, my lips pressed to her throat as I come.
We struggle to regain our breath, and I keep her pinned against the wall, bringing my forehead to hers.
“I’ll be sure to stay in bed during my next sleep over,” she murmurs, biting her lip.
“I don’t know. This was pretty awesome, too. But I’ll take you anywhere you’ll let me. ”
We stay like that until she shifts a little, and I let her down, sensing her discomfort.
“That was hot, not gonna lie. Definitely happy to let you take me anywhere, anytime, captain.”
I groan, claiming her mouth again. “Keep calling me that, and I’ll be ready to take you again, right here, right now.”
She nips my lip lightly, then looks up at me with a cheeky grin.
Raising on to her tiptoes, her lips brush against my ear. “I want you to fuck me all day long, Captain.”
Jesus, this woman is going to kill me.
Hours later, I return from practice to find Kylie sitting exactly where I left her on the couch. Her laptop is sitting on a pillow on her lap, and she has papers scattered all around her.
“Hey,” I say, dropping a kiss on the top of her head.
“Hey. I didn’t even hear you come in. How was practice?” She blinks up at me, almost as though she’s trying to remember where she is, or who I even am, for that matter.
“Good…” I regard her closely. “Have you moved off this couch at all?”
She shrugs, looking a little sheepish. “Um… No?”
I raise an eyebrow. “So you haven’t eaten or anything?”
She shakes her head. “I got caught up in researching for my upcoming tours. I want to have as much information as possible for any questions people might have. I’m at a distinct disadvantage, not having grown up here and all.”
“I get that. But you still need to eat something.” I slide the laptop off her lap and take her hand, tugging her to her feet. “Your brilliant brain needs fuel. Come on, I’ll make you some lunch. Well, a late afternoon meal,” I add, realising it’s almost four o’clock.
I left at nine, which means she’s not had anything since the cup of coffee I’d handed her before I walked out the door.
“How are you not starving right now?” I start making her an omelette while she settles on the bar stool to watch me.
“When I get caught up in a project, I tend to lose track of everything around me. I hyper fixate, basically. Once, when I was on a spiral through the depths of researching things for our trip, I almost fainted, ‘cause I hadn’t eaten all day.” She shrugs, like it’s no big deal.
“Linc gets like that. You guys are so similar it’s almost scary sometimes,” I reply.
“Just means you have good taste in people. We’re both awesome,” she says with a grin.
“Very true. Just do me a favour? Let me know when you’re on a spiral so I can make sure I’m around to remind you to take care of yourself?” When she doesn’t reply, I glance over to find her blinking rapidly while staring at me. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I’m just not used to having someone take care of me like that. Well, Will does, but he doesn’t count. He’s my brother. He has a vested interest in my well-being.”
I abandon the omelette and round the bench to cup her face in my hands. “I have a vested interest in your well-being too, Kylie.” I kiss her tenderly, and she curls her fingers to fist my shirt, pulling me closer.
“Thank you,” she whispers once we pull apart.
“You’re very welcome. Now stop distracting me so that I can feed you and make sure you don’t faint, so that you can be the best tour guide ever.” I wink at her before heading back to rescue the omelette before it burns.
She laughs. “Yes, sir.”
“Hey, I said no distractions.”
She tips her head back and laughs even harder. And I’ll be damned if that sound doesn’t slice right through my heart.
Yep, it’s official. I’m gone for this woman.