Chapter 38 Chelsea
Chelsea
I LOOK AWAY from the clip of the Renegades’ quarterback on my iPad to check my texts again. Still nothing from Luca.
I’m sitting on my couch in my tiny apartment that’s about two miles from the practice facility—the place I rented with my paltry “personal assistant to the head coach” salary when I first moved here.
Dad offered me a room at the fancy new condo he rented across town for the season.
The one he got when he first got here for his new gig while Mom held down the fort back in Ohio.
But I refused his offer. Not only because I’m an adult who wants to be self-sufficient and independent, but also because I figured I’d only be living in this shoebox for one season at most. Certainly, I never imagined I’d one day be waiting for the hottest man alive to arrive at this cramped apartment for some hot, forbidden, postgame/post-dinner-with-our-parents sex.
Oh, man, the dinner with both sets of parents and Iris went so well tonight, our parents have already made plans to meet up again.
First, for dinner after Levi’s team plays the Mastodons in a few weeks.
And then, in Columbus at the huge blowout party my mother’s throwing for my father in January after the regular season is over—the exact date to be determined in case the Mastodons or my brothers’ teams make the playoffs—to celebrate Dad’s birthday and upcoming induction into Ohio State’s Hall of Fame.
Tonight went so well, in fact, I felt emboldened to tell my mother the truth about Luca and me in front of the restaurant while Dad went to get the car.
To my relief, Mom not only gushed about Luca and expressed excitement for me, she also assured me she’d keep my scandalous secret from Dad and Lincoln for however long needed.
“It’s not my secret to tell,” Mom said simply.
Although right after saying that, she also hit me with something kind of ominous: “By the end of the season, though, if you still care more about your job security and/or what your father and Lincoln might think about your romantic choices, then you should probably take that as a sign to break things off with Luca. Being secretive makes perfect sense for now, but if you’re not willing to scream from the mountaintops about your feelings for him by the end of the season, then perhaps that means it’s really not meant to continue. ”
The woman’s savage. But not necessarily wrong.
My phone chimes with an incoming text, drawing my attention from my deep thoughts. It’s Luca, thankfully.
Luca: Come onto your balcony, Juliet.
Squealing happily, I toss my iPad onto the couch and stride out there. And when I get into the cool night air and look down at the small grassy area two stories below me, my very own Romeo is looking up at me with a wide, mischievous grin on his face.
“There’s no need for secrecy here,” I call down to him. “No players or staffers live in my building.”
“I know, but I played so well today, I’ve got paparazzi hot on my tail.”
I chuckle. “Come to my front door, and I’ll congratulate you properly for sacking the Antichrist for me.”
Luca waggles his eyebrows seductively. “One sack was enough to get the booty, huh?”
“Come to my front door and find out, boy toy.” We’re both being silly. Luca knows full well one sack was more than enough for him to get laid tonight, or I wouldn’t have texted him my address along with a GIF of a geyser exploding.
“Before I come up,” Luca says, “I think we should seize this golden opportunity.”
I tilt my head. “What do you mean?”
“Well, you’re always calling me Montague, and you’re presently standing on a balcony …”
I bite my lower lip. He’s such a goofball. Even though I know exactly what he’s hinting at, I tease him with, “Sorry, I’m not sure I catch your meaning, Romeo.”
He motions up to me. “I want you to say the famous thing Juliet says on the balcony. Come on, Chelsea. It’d make your secret boy toy oh-so happy and hard on this night of endless celebrations.”
How could I possibly say no to that? With a wide smile, I grip the railing and lean over it slightly while performing my appointed line theatrically. “Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?”
Luca whoops. “I’m down here, Juliet! And I’m coming up!”
I’m too charmed to tell Luca he’s misunderstood the meaning of “wherefore.” I’m not charmed enough, however, to remain quiet when I realize this maniac is assessing the facade of the building and plotting his ascent.
“No, Luca!” I shout. “Don’t do it! It’s too dangerous!”
It’s no use. He’s already sprinting toward the building at full speed.
As I shriek from anxiety, Luca leaps off the ground on one foot and pushes off the face of the building with the other, which he leverages to hurtle himself even higher—high enough to reach the bottom railing of my balcony, which he grasps with one hand.
From there, as I clutch my chest and try to breathe, he somehow grips the railing with his free hand, performs an easy, one-handed pull-up and then a ladder-climb maneuver, and, boom, just like that, Luca deftly pulls himself up and over the railing of my balcony without breaking a sweat.
“Hello, Juliet!” Luca booms upon arrival. “Your boy toy is hard and reporting for duty!”
“Sit on my face, Juliet,” Luca commands hoarsely, like he’s on the verge of coming. We’re mid-fuck during our second round of the night. I’m on top, riding him hard, and he’s underneath me, looking sweaty and enraptured. “Sit on my face or I’m gonna lose it, and I don’t want this to end.”
Breathing hard, I crawl to Luca’s face, turn myself around so I’m facing his hard dick, and slowly lower myself.
Immediately, his swirling tongue and voracious lips transport me to another dimension of pleasure.
Not to mention the way he’s desperately gripping my hips and guiding their movement.
The sight of his chin moving underneath me between my legs makes me groan.
So does the straining, glistening erection that tells me he’s as rabid for me as I am for him.
My orgasm comes quickly, and Luca groans his celebration. I slide off him, and he quickly guides me onto my knees and plunges himself inside me with a loud roar before launching into fucking me with such fervor, my eyes roll back into my head with each thrust.
I thought forbidden sex at the players’ hotel way back when was as good as it gets. But it turns out forbidden sex at my place, where we don’t have to worry about the wrong person catching us coming in or out of one of our rooms, is even better.
I’m hurtling toward another orgasm, and my noises announce as much.
With a loud growl, Luca reaches around and gropes my breast with one hand while fingering my clit with the other.
Soon, I’m being hurtled into another release.
This one, a full-bodied seizure that makes me feel like I’m being electrocuted with pleasure.
Luca can’t hang on through my orgasm, not surprisingly.
As he comes along with me, we both collapse onto the mattress in a sweaty heap.
It’s par for the course for us. We’ve always been an atomic bomb.
But this time, after all we’ve been through and all the renewed anticipation, sex has felt even more explosive than ever.
After catching his breath, Luca slides off me and lies next to me on the bed, and we lie on our sides nose to nose for a long, giddy moment, breathing hard and grinning at each other with flushed cheeks.
“Today is the best day of my life,” Luca whispers softly.
“It was one of my tippy-top days, too.”
“Really?”
I nod. “I felt like I was out there on the field with you.”
“You were in spirit. Just like I was there in spirit at the math competition with you.”
I crack up, surprised he’s calling back to something that now feels like a full lifetime ago.
Suddenly, memories of Luca’s sweet, dimpled smile from all those years ago flood me, and I feel the momentary urge to blurt those three little words I’ve never said to him or anyone else.
Romantically, that is. I say “I love you” to my brothers, parents, and best friends all the time.
But now, for the first time ever, I can practically taste the words on the tip of my tongue as I gaze into Luca’s dark, sparkling eyes in the moonlight of my small bedroom.
Somehow, I get ahold of myself, though. Control my foolish impulses.
I’ll need to hear those words out of Luca’s mouth first before going out on that limb for the very first time, for one thing.
But for another, my mother’s ominous words from earlier tonight are ringing in my ears.
She was right, wasn’t she? I can’t credibly claim to love this man with my full heart, even though it sure feels like I do, unless and until I’m willing to back up those sacred, first-time words with action.
To risk anything and everything for the man I love.
And if I’m being honest, that’s not something I’m willing to do just yet.
Uh-oh. The way Luca’s looking at me, I’m getting the distinct feeling he’s tasting those same three little words on his tongue, too. And knowing him and his poor impulse control, I’m pretty sure he won’t be able to get ahold of himself and think about the big picture here before saying them.
“Get some sleep,” I blurt, just as Luca opens his mouth and begins saying something that begins with my name. Quickly, I add, “After all those hard hits today, your body needs some really good sleep and recovery time.”
“We’ve got a recovery day tomorrow, remember?”
“Yeah, and I want you as clear-headed as possible while we study film to get you ready for next weekend’s game.” I softly touch his stubbled cheek with my fingertips. “Sleep, Luca. Please.”
He sighs. “Is that an invitation to stay here with you all night?”
It’d be a first, if he does. “If that’s what you’d like to do.”
“You know what I’d like to do. I haven’t been shy about letting you know. The question is whether that’s what you’d like?”
I open my mouth to reply, and he cuts me off.
“As a woman, I mean. Not as my coach. If you’re going to say me staying here tonight will make it easier and more convenient to get me up on time, please don’t.”
I run my fingers through his dark hair. “I assure you, I’m not lying here naked with you as your coach.”
Luca grins. “That’s great to hear, because I’m not losing my goddamned mind over Coach Chelsea right now. I’m losing my mind over Chelsea. My mathlete. My Juliet.”
My cheeks flush hot, and I can’t seem to do anything but smile broadly and swoon.
“How would you feel about me leaving a toothbrush and a few items of clothing at your place?” he asks tentatively. “Not a lot of stuff, just the basics. Just in case.”
I nod shyly, flushing again, and Luca’s smile is so bright, it feels like it’s lighting up every dark corner of my moonlit bedroom.
“I’ll empty a drawer for you.”
“I can have a whole drawer?” he booms, making me laugh.
“Damn, this amazing day just keeps getting better and better.” He smooths my hair back from my face.
“Just so you know, I’d offer to give you a drawer at my place, too, but I don’t even have a dresser.
All I’ve got is an air mattress, a card table, and a single folding chair. ”
“You’ve got one chair?”
He shrugs. “Before today’s game, I didn’t feel like I could ever get too comfortable. And let’s not forget, you weren’t talking to me when I moved in, so I didn’t see any point in splurging on a second chair. Who would I invite to come to my shitty place, if not you?”
My heart flutters. “Oh, Luca. The entire team adores you. Any of them would have been thrilled to come and sit in your second chair.”
“Yeah, but I’d only be thrilled to have one particular guest.”
I love you. The words are on the tip of my tongue again, but I dutifully bite them back. “I’m sorry this journey has been so stressful and unpredictable for you.”
“Today made it all worth it and then some.”
I touch his stubbled cheek, and his dark eyes sparkle in reply.
“After what you pulled off today,” I whisper, “there’s no doubt in my mind you’re going to feel comfortable enough to splurge on not only a second folding chair in the very near future, but maybe even a couch, dresser, and real bed, too.”