Chapter 22
twenty-two
. . .
Lincoln
“So, is this how you two spend your days?” my mom asked as she set the plates down with sandwiches and chips, placing a large bowl of fruit in the center of the table.
My mom and Brinkley had hit it off when they’d met yesterday.
The only problem I had now was that Brinkley wouldn’t stay the night at the house with me while my mom was here.
Nor was she okay with me sneaking over to her place last night because she said my mother would know I had left.
She didn’t want to make a bad impression.
What about the fucking impression she was making on my dick?
Sure, I’d gone without sex for weeks before I’d met her.
But now that I’d had her, I didn’t function well without her in my bed.
And that was a huge fucking problem.
I’d spent most of my life making sure I didn’t need to depend on anyone.
My job was to take care of my mom and take care of myself.
But now this woman had complicated things.
And I was in a foul mood due to a bad case of raging blue balls.
Try running six miles with an erection.
It’s no fun.
“Yes, he puts in the work every single day. It’s impressive.” Brinkley smiled at me.
She thought it was hilarious that I was struggling after one day without her body pressed against mine.
There was nothing fucking funny about it.
“Always has. Do you know this boy used to wake up at five o’clock in the morning to mow everyone in the neighborhood’s lawns when he was in middle school? He was born with a shrewd work ethic.”
“The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
” I winked at her. She was leaving out the fact that she’d been up at the same time, heading out to clean houses.
She’d worked two jobs a day, six days a week, most of my life.
The only time she’d ever taken off was to attend my games.
Every single one of them. My mom worked her ass off to provide for me, and I would never take that for granted.
“Lincoln tells me that you’re going to be moving to New York with him?”
“I am. Can’t miss my boy’s games, you know?
” Mom said before taking a bite of her sandwich.
She looked thin, which always concerned me.
I had groceries delivered to her every week.
Organic, healthy, whole foods. I’d been doing this since before she found out she had cancer.
When you spend years eating shit food because you live on a budget, it’s hard to remember that what you put into your body actually matters. It really fucking matters.
But old habits die hard.
My mother would go without food in order to give me more. That shit would never happen again in my lifetime.
She deserved to live out the rest of her days being fucking waited on like a goddamn royal.
So, the fact that I could buy her a beautiful home in whatever city she chose to live in and keep her refrigerator well-stocked—was the least I could do.
“I love that you never miss his games. That’s how my parents were with us, too. And it was hard with five kids, but one of them was always there, no matter what. Sometimes they had to split up if two of us had something on the same day.” Brinkley chuckled as she reached for her sun tea.
“That must have been so fun, growing up in a house full of kids.” Mom shook her head with a big smile on her face. “I always wanted a big family. But now I’ll just have to hope this one gives me a bunch of grandkids.”
Jesus, Mom.
Take it down a notch.
She knew we were seeing one another, and she asked me last night after I took Brinkley home how serious it was.
We hadn’t been together that long, but for whatever reason, it felt serious to me.
If the connection I felt was the meter for how serious I was about her, I’d be walking this girl down the aisle today.
But who the hell knew what was going to happen in two months when I headed to New York for official training camp at the end of July.
It was too soon to talk about that shit.
But not too soon to think about it. We were keeping things quiet for now, but we hadn’t talked about what would happen after the story was released. Because I’d be leaving when that happened. And she didn’t know where she was going.
“All right. I think that’s a bit more than anyone needed to know. We’ve got plenty of time for that.” I took the last bite of my sandwich.
My mom’s eyes widened, and she smiled. “Well, that’s a first.”
“What’s a first?” I asked as Brinkley looked between me and my mother.
“Well, whenever I’d joke about grandbabies in the past, you’d always say that football was your one and only love, and unless I wanted little footballs to babysit, I should give it up.”
Brinkley’s head fell back in laughter. “I can hear him saying that.”
“You’re overthinking it. I was just saying that we have plenty of time before you start taking care of a bunch of tiny footballs,” I teased, trying to make light of the fact that she was right. It was the first time that the thought didn’t make me want to crawl out of my skin.
It didn’t mean I’d changed my mind. I had no example for a father, and I knew the damage that a man could do to a kid if he wasn’t there or didn’t step up to the plate.
I hated that I was the only kid on the flag football team who didn’t have a father in the stands. There were a million examples of how shitty it had been, knowing that my father had chosen to walk away from me.
That wasn’t an easy thing for a kid to process.
But I guess, in a way, seeing Brinkley with her family showed me the other side. How fucking good a family could actually be when everyone stuck around.
I wouldn’t analyze it too deeply. My life was about to change drastically, and I didn’t know what the future looked like.
“You’re ridiculous,” Brinkley said, smiling at me with this tender look in her eyes.
“Linc told me that your brother and your sister are both getting married this summer. Are they getting married here in Cottonwood Cove?”
“My brother, Hugh, and Lila are going to get married here. My sister Georgia, and her fiancé, Maddox, have a gorgeous home looking out at the cove. They have the yard for it, so Hugh and Lila are going to have the ceremony and reception there next month.” She fiddled with her napkin in her lap.
“And Georgia and Maddox are having a small wedding in Paris in September. So, we’ve got a lot to look forward to over the next few months. ”
“Wow. Your parents must be thrilled.” My mother clapped her hands together like she’d never heard anything this impressive.
Didn’t people get married every day?
The woman was an over-celebrator. Always had been. And I wouldn’t change a fucking thing.
“Yeah. They are thrilled about it. I think it’s hard in our family with the example my parents set in a way, you know?”
“What do you mean?” I asked, curious about this because we had never discussed it. And we discussed a lot. We worked out for hours every day with just conversation or music, so you could get to know someone pretty quickly that way.
“Well, they’ve been married for thirty-three years, and they’re still ridiculously in love.
My dad freaks out every year when my mom goes on a girls’ trip with her best friend.
He wanders around the grocery store aimlessly like he’s missing a limb.
” She laughed and shook her head. “He still tells the story about how he knew she was the one because all the hair on his arms stood on end when they met. So, I think we all have the bar set pretty high. And we don’t want to settle for anything less than the real deal. ”
Interesting.
This, I could relate to.
I never believed in settling.
“That is the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard. I love that they have that kind of love. And it’s an amazing thing for their children to grow up surrounded by it. What do your parents do, Brinkley?”
“My mom is a therapist. So, she’s a fabulous listener and not shy on the advice.
” She smiled. “And my dad owns a bar and a restaurant in town, but when he got diagnosed with cancer a few years back, he stepped away from the business. My brother, Hugh, and his fiancée run everything now. My dad does constant projects around the house, and they’re traveling a lot now.
And apparently, they’ll be heading to New York because the whole family has season tickets to see the Thunderbirds. ”
More clapping from my mother. Her glass was always endlessly half full. She loved to make a big deal out of the good things, and she had a gift for spinning bad news.
When I’d get upset about other kids going on trips with their fathers or throwing the football with their dads, she’d always say that we were lucky that he walked away if he wasn’t going to be what we needed.
Surround yourself with good people, Lincoln.
She said those words to me every day growing up. I’d kept my circle small. I’d used those words to guide me when I made the decision to leave San Francisco and the team I’d been playing for since I started my professional career.
Simple words with a whole lot of meaning behind them.
And right now, I was surrounded by the two best women that I knew.
“Well, then, I hope I’ll get to see you at a game this season,” my mom said.
“Oh, yes, I hope so. We haven’t really talked about that stuff yet,” Brinkley said, glancing at me with a smile.
“Are you a reporter now, Mama?” I teased.
“No. I just thought—I, er, you two are spending a lot of time together. I just wondered where you saw it going.”
“Annnnd that’s our cue. We should get going if we’re going to take the boat out.” I pushed to my feet.
Brinkley laughed over her words. “Has he not told you about the three-question rule?”
“What’s that about?”
“He only allows me to ask three questions a day. I try to sneak in a fourth question all the time, but he sticks to his rules.”
“He’s always been a bit of a rule follower.” Mom chuckled. “I’m just going to go to my room and get changed. Give me about thirty minutes?”
“Take your time,” I said as I watched her go down the hallway into her room and close the door.
“Why are you getting all agitated? Her questions didn’t bother me,” Brinkley whispered.
I took her hand and tugged her down the hallway to the bedroom and closed the door.
My mouth was on hers the second the door was closed. “I’ll tell you why I’m agitated. I fucking missed you. Your smart mouth. Your body.” I kissed down her neck.
“Your mom is right down the hall,” she hissed, but her fingers were tangled in my hair, tugging me closer.
“What if we’re quiet?” I said against her ear and nipped at her lobe. She nodded.
I pulled back and moved her to the dresser, where a large mirror sat on the wall above it. I turned her around, and she watched me in the mirror, her hooded gaze locked with mine.
“I missed you, too,” she said, her voice low and laced with desire. She shoved her shorts down her legs and kicked them to the side before jutting her ass back in my direction.
I took in her peach-shaped ass and white thong that was doing very little to cover it. “God. I love your fucking body so much, sweetheart.”
“I need you now.” Her head fell back against my chest, and I reached into my pocket for a condom and had my shorts and briefs down within seconds. I rolled the latex over my throbbing cock and watched her in the mirror.
I leaned down and tore the lace fabric right off her body, and her eyes widened. I tossed her now-decimated thong on the floor and ran my fingers along her pussy.
“So fucking wet and ready,” I whisper-growled against her ear, and her breaths were labored.
I teased her with my tip before pushing in, slowly at first.
Her eyes closed, lips parted.
I shoved the straps of her tank top and bra down her shoulders, exposing her beautiful tits, as I pulled out and thrust back in. I squeezed her breasts, teasing her nipples as we found our rhythm.
Faster.
Harder.
She met me thrust for thrust. Every single fucking time.
Her body was made for mine.
She was made for me.
“Lincoln,” she whispered and placed her hand over her mouth to remain quiet. Our breaths were out of control, and my cock swelled inside her, as we were both overcome with desire.
My need for this woman was feral.
Completely out of my control at this point.
My hand moved around her hips, finding her clit and knowing just what she needed.
“Come for me, baby,” I demanded.
Her body shook and convulsed as she went right over the edge. She bit down on her hand to keep from screaming.
I pumped into her one more time.
And that was all it took.
I followed her into oblivion.
I came so hard I couldn’t see straight.
And I only wanted more.