Chapter 19 #2
We’re both on the edge, and when I break, my inner walls clamping down on his shaft, Brooks follows. He pulls me down until my ass is in his lap and I’m filled completely, his cock twitching deep inside me.
Oh my god.
Holy crap.
The moment his body relaxes, the strain of pleasure gone from his face, Brooks pulls me close. “We’re doing that again in about half an hour,” he grunts as I curl into his warmth, his cock still inside me, half-hard.
No objections here.
“You’re going to be stuck with me,” I giggle, playing with his chest hair.
Brooks snorts. “I think I’ve made it clear I’m down for that. I do have a question, though, about something I’ve been wondering about for a while.”
His tone is so serious that I sit back to look at him, instantly worried. “What is it?”
Running both hands up my legs to settle on my hips, Brooks smiles wryly. “Why did you tip me off about River the day we met? I’d barely said anything to you.”
It’s been three years since that day. He’s literally inside me right now, possibly getting me pregnant as we speak. He asked me to marry him a few days ago, but I’m somehow still embarrassed. “Seriously? You’re going to make me say it?”
“Spell it out for me.” His eyebrows arch expectantly.
I press my lips together to keep myself from laughing. His ego will be unbearable after hearing this. “I thought you were really hot.”
Brooks’ expression flickers in genuine surprise. “That’s it?”
“Yup.” I twine my arms around his neck. “ Really, really hot.”
“But—” He splutters, looking outraged. “You were a professional athlete. You shouldn’t have been making medical decisions based on being attracted to a doctor.”
“Don’t worry, I googled you first and knew you were competent, but I’ll remember that for next time.” I laugh, pulling off him and climbing unsteadily to my feet.
His cum is dripping down my inner thigh, but when I go to reach for a tissue, Brooks’ hands clamp down on my hips. My stomach flips when he uses two fingers to gather it up, pushing it back inside me.
I tremble.
“Are you angry with me for objectifying you?”
In response, my former doctor tugs me back onto the couch. I let him move my body how he wants it, until I’m lying flat, my hips raised on his lap. Oh . So we’re really trying to get me pregnant.
He smirks down at me, one big hand spread over my lower belly. “I’ll get over it. We have something to do before I go back to work tomorrow.”
Brooks seems to care a lot more about my engagement ring than I do. He gives me an absolutely disgusted look when I tell the bemused saleswoman we’ll take the first one she shows us, and proceeds to begin an in-depth discussion with her on diamond cut and clarity.
I wander off, staring into the brightly lit cases. The store is empty except for us, as apparently not a lot of people go shopping for fine jewelry during their lunch break the Monday after Christmas.
A little TV on in the corner catches my eye for a second and I do a double take, pierced by a dull stab of shock as I realize what’s playing.
Pre-game commentary for the Men’s XT Games.
Brooks and I were planning to watch Lake and Bay compete later, and I’d called both of them this morning before my appointment to wish them luck, I’d obviously known it was today but it’s jarring to observe from the outside for the first time.
The camera pans over the slopestyle course as the commentator explains some elements. Athletes are warming up in the background. When the shot changes to a reporter, a man at the edge of the screen catches my eye, and my stomach drops.
My father .
River is talking to a man on a snowboard at the bottom of the hill, his arms crossed and brow furrowed in concentration.
I know that face well, I saw it before every significant event of my life. I was determined to set aside my feelings about Dad, Bay and the reporter’s request until after my brothers returned from Utah. I’m not sure what makes me do it, but as I watch Dad talk, I pull out my phone.
Running into him on my birthday is still the only time I’ve spoken to him since immediately before the accident. I changed my number after discovering Brooks had been not-so-mysteriously blocked, and it’s been a savage little comfort to know that he couldn’t get ahold of me.
I liked having that power over him. I liked being the one in control for once. When I pull my phone out and hit his contact, though, it’s without hesitation.
When it rings once, it occurs to me he probably won’t pick up for an unknown number, hours before a major competition. To my surprise, though, I watch as Dad pulls out his phone and frowns at the screen. After what feels like an age, he brings it to his ear.
“Hello?”
My hand presses over the brand-new ache in the center of my chest. “Hi, Dad.”
On the TV, I see his face register shock. “DJ.” He clears his throat, brow furrowed in confusion. “How, ah , how are you kid?” His snowboarder leaves, and then it’s just him, standing in a line of other coaches and competitors, staring at the snow.
“Good. Amazing, actually.” I glance over my shoulder to where Brooks is still absorbed in his conversation with the saleswoman. “I’m picking out my engagement ring. ”
River is quiet for a moment. “You’re marrying the doctor, huh?” His tone isn’t cold or disapproving, just tired.
I smile to myself. “Yeah. I’m marrying the doctor.”
Neither of us speaks, and in the background I can hear the familiar sounds of a chaotic mountain.
I would have been there right now, likely standing beside Dad to cheer on Lake and Bay.
The women’s competition isn’t until next weekend, and I’d have been a ball of nerves, analyzing every inch of the course for when it was my turn.
I never thought I would be thankful for my fucked-up hip.
He’s not going to break the silence, so I ask the question that’s been on my mind for most of my life. “I wanted to know if you have any regrets.”
Dad scrubs a hand over his beard, brow furrowed. “Regrets?”
“About me,” I clarify, my throat tightening. “The way I was raised. Trained .”I’m not looking for an apology, or even an admission that he fucked up. It’s too late for us. He wanted me to be a snowboarder before being his daughter, and now I can’t be either.
I wouldn’t even know how to begin having a relationship with my father outside that world, but I need to know if this man is capable of growth. I need to know if he learned from what happened to me.
Almost like he can sense my eyes on him from hundreds of miles away, Dad turns toward the camera. There are so many people milling around that I keep losing sight of him for seconds at a time, but then the crowd clears and there he is, silent and staring off into the distance.
“I’m sure you wish I was different. Hell, maybe I should have been, but go back and watch your old competitions, DJ.
You were remarkable. That kind of talent doesn’t happen every day.
” And even from this far away, I can see it, the wild, obsessive glint in his eyes that sends a bitter chill down my spine.
He doesn’t answer the question, not really, but I realize I don’t need him to. I know for sure now that I was never as valuable to him as all that talent.
“Okay,” I reply, turning away from the TV. “Thanks, Dad. Good luck today.”
“DJ—” He begins, then pauses, clearing his throat. “I could open a coaching job for you. If you wanted to come back.”
I watch Brooks examine a tray of rings, his lips turned down in concentration like this is the most important decision of his life.
“No, thanks.” I lean against the display counter, something settling inside me. “I’ve got to run. Bye, Dad.”
I hang up before he can say another word.
The email from the USSA is still in my inbox, dated seven weeks ago. I screenshot it and open the contact I saved for Annie, the reporter.
My thumb hovers over the ‘send’ button for a full five seconds before I finally press it.
I didn’t do it for me, nor did I expect it to bring me any relief. Once I do, though, it’s like a million pounds have been lifted from my shoulders all at once.
If I wanted to be free, I had to send that email, and now I have.
“Delta?” Brooks calls, and I shove my phone into my pocket, crossing the store to his side.
The ring he’s holding doesn’t have a diamond at all.
It’s made of delicate, braided gold, and nestled in the tiny prongs is a dark blue sapphire the size of one of my nails.
My breath hitches as he slips it onto my finger, and we stare down at it together. “What do you think?”
I nod, my eyes burning. “This one.”
He chuckles, kissing my forehead and tucking me into his side while I admire it. “You’re not just saying that so we can leave?”
“No.” I look up at him, beaming. “It’s perfect. Don’t you think?”
“That one has a matching wedding band.” The saleswoman chips in and hurries off to get it, leaving us alone.
“I called my dad,” I tell Brooks under my breath, tilting my hand so the ring catches the light from the store windows. It’s so pretty . “I needed to hear it from him, that he doesn’t regret his actions.”
Brooks’ hand tightens on my waist, pulling me closer, as though he can protect me from the past. “And did you get your answer?”
Lifting my face to meet his eyes, I nod. I’m not mad at River. I’m sad for him, because I’m positive he’s felt nothing close to what I do right now. The only thing my father has ever loved unconditionally is snowboarding, and a sport will never give him the things Brooks does just by looking at me.
Even when he thought there would be nothing more than friendship between us, even when he was sure the best thing for me wasn’t him, there was never a time when he didn’t put me first.
“I did.” I smile, loving the unfamiliar weight of the ring on my finger. “Can we get this one?”
Brooks agrees instantly, slapping his credit card on the glass display case as soon as the saleswoman comes back.
“I thought you looked familiar,” she tells me a few minutes later as she double checks the fit of the ring. “You’re Delta Jacobs, right? The snowboarder?”
“Not so much, lately,” I reply with a wry smile, and the woman’s eyes widen in understanding.
“Oh, I heard about that! You got hurt, right? How are you doing?”
I have to smile. “Oh, great. I got really lucky. My doctor was super invested in my recovery. Incredibly attentive.”
Brooks’ chest shakes with silent laughter as she goes to charge his card and wrap up the matching wedding bands we picked out. “I’m glad to hear it worked out for you, considering you chose your doctor on looks alone.”
“Are you complaining?”
He drags me into his chest, kissing me so deeply it makes my knees weak. Pulling back, I can tell he’s holding back a smile as he leans down to murmur in my ear, “Never again.”