22 - Sage #2
“I just fucking miss you, you stupid idiot.” A third bottle cracked open to temper my inconvenient feelings.
Minutes later, Aiden intercepted a pass near the boards, barely getting nudged into the corner by a Minnesota player.
Somehow he got it right to find Grayson in the chaos, who angled the puck into the net without stopping to think about it.
The Surge were safely ahead now, and I bounced on the bed, knocking snacks everywhere.
Final buzzer. Surge took the win. I scrambled to grab the spilled snacks, chewing and laughing at my own brand of chaos.
From the corner of my eye, I caught the camera zooming onto Aiden pulling off his helmet as he left the ice, and my foolish girl heart lifted, buzzed with alcohol, the thrill of the day and game, and the ridiculous realization that I had a boyfriend who sent me secret messages on TV.
I checked the time, and realized the universe had granted me ten whole minutes before my scheduled call with Aiden. A hot shower was the only answer, because the convention center still clung to me with its myriad of smells and ink residue.
Steam curled thick around the shower stall, hot water hammering down in pulses against my shoulders and neck.
Muscles I hadn’t realized were locked up during the day slowly uncoiled under the heat, and I pressed my hands against the tile to steady myself beneath it.
The glass door fogged, droplets forming and sliding down, mimicking the little streaks running down my arms and legs.
Hours of tattooing ached all the way to my elbow, but hot water magically made it bearable, softening the tension in my grip.
The showerhead angled just right, and I let it pound my back, thighs, even the soles of my feet, until I thought back to the applause in that room, the looks on faces of people I’d tattooed, and how my work had been the topic of discussion.
Recognition had never been a thing for me, not on social media or in praise from clients.
I’d always been happy to just have the time and space to do my thing.
My art. It was all I needed. All I’d ever wanted from this crazy ride.
But I would’ve been lying if I said what happened today didn’t fill me up some kinda way.
Made me think of how it must’ve felt for Aiden to get called up to first line.
All those years of working for something, and finally somebody noticed.
Inevitably, this string of thoughts dragged my mind to my dad’s failed attempts at the same.
I shut the water off abruptly, shocking my brain back into the present moment.
Cold air hit my damp skin when I stepped out of the shower, and I shivered in a delicious way as I wrapped the towel around my body.
My phone was already ringing. The stream from the shower—and being stuck in my head—must’ve muffled it.
I hurried for it and fell onto the bed, hair still dripping wet.
“Hey,” Aiden’s voice cut through the line, out of breath and still edged with excitement from the game.
“Where are you calling from? The game just ended.”
“I just zipped through the locker room, and now I’m sitting in my truck in the mostly empty parking lot. Couldn’t wait to hear your voice.”
“I see.” The edges of my towel slipped a little as I stretched out with a satisfied grin on my face.
“I miss you.”
Heat pooled in my chest and lower, totally unrelated to the shower. My fingers dug into the towel at my waist, heart skittering as I whispered, “I… I miss you too.”
“You sound good. How was your second day?”
I laughed softly, the sound husky with leftover steam and fatigue. “It was… wild. Kind of surreal, actually. Dominic Vega picked me out to do a panel discussion with him. Can you believe it?”
“That’s amazing! Oh, my God. Dominic Vargas—”
“Vega,” I corrected. “You have no idea who he is, do you?”
“None. Sorry.”
I drummed my fingers on the bedcovers, thinking. Then I said, “He’s Wayne Gretzky.”
“Holy shit, babe.” Aiden’s reaction was immediate, and finally, honestly, appropriate. “You had the Gretzky of ink single you out? That’s— That’s insane. How many times did you throw up?”
“Not once,” I said proudly. “If you don’t count the secret time in my mouth a little when I saw my work zoomed in on a big screen.”
His laughter unfurled the last knots of anxiety in me. “I’m so proud of you.”
It came out so easily, I almost cried. Nobody had ever said those words to me before. Ever.
“Thanks,” I breathed, feeling oddly exposed even though I was alone.
“So what are you doing for the rest of the night? Hitting the Denver nightlife?”
“Well, I just got out of the shower. I plan to finish the tiny bottles of vodka in my fridge, then go to sleep. My hand’s a mess, so I should probably get some ice on it so I don’t crash on my last day tomorrow.”
“Tell me more about the shower,” he said, voice deeper now.
I rolled my eyes, but couldn’t help smiling. “Keep it in your pants, Santos.”
“Too late.” And that soft, loaded inflection sent fire pooling in my veins, the heat of it spreading right between my legs. My thighs squeezed together as if by reflex.
“Aiden… What are you doing?”
“You can always use your other hand,” he murmured, heavy breathing layered over the line.
Arousal rushed instantly, fingers curling over the small gap where my towel had fallen aside.
I picked at the edges, letting the towel slip entirely from me, the air hitting my warm, damp skin with a barrage of goosebumps made worse by the breathing in my ear.
Every inflection, every pause made my pussy pulse in anticipation.
My hand floated lower, responding to the decadent cadence of his voice as he urged me on.
“You know you want to,” he said. “Come on, baby. I’d be doing it myself if I were there with you right now.”
And God, I wanted him here.
Soon, my heavy breaths mirrored his. A stream of whispered encouragements, soft teasing, and laughter mixing with low moans, all transmitted through the line.
I slid one finger between my folds, not surprised at all to find I was already slick with want.
Gliding up and down over my clit, I talked him through my motions until the wet slap of his hand stroking his dick grew more pronounced.
The tension built, a delicious ache, a private connection across the distance, all the warmth, electricity, and desire we couldn’t give each other in person.
“Jesus, my pussy’s soaked.”
His answer was a low grunt that made me shiver. “Fuck, Sage…”
I closed my eyes and tilted back my head, focusing on the touch of my fingers, his presence on the other end of line. Imagined him right here with me.
“I wish you could see what you’re doing to me,” he said, breath ragged. “My cock’s fucking throbbing.”
“Me too,” I groaned, trailing my fingers up and down my wet slit, flicking at my hardening clit with every pass.
His voice wasn’t more than a rasp when he said, “What would you do first if you were here?”
“Kiss it.” I didn’t need to think about it for long. I’d been fantasizing about crawling up to him from the foot of his bed. “I’d kiss my way up your thick shaft, slowly, until your legs are shaking with how turned on you are.”
Aiden’s breath left him in a huff. “I’m so horny for you.”
“Then I’d flick my tongue against the tip, lick that delicious slit of yours…” I heard him curse under his breath, knowing he was stroking himself faster, hanging on my every word. I kept my voice low. “Then I’d drag my tongue down, and back up, so slowly it’d make you groan out loud.”
He did just that, and the sound vibrated through the phone with spikes of electricity aimed straight at my clit. My whole body tensed with the way my pussy ached for him. Even with my practiced movements, it wasn’t enough. It wasn’t Aiden.
“Just like that,” I said, after getting my own breathing back under control. “Then I’d wrap my soft lips around your throbbing cock and suck you in. Slow and deep. You know I love sucking your perfect cock, don’t you?”
“Your mouth drives me crazy. Especially when you take me deep.”
“All the way.”
“Fuck,” he grunted again. “Yes. All… all the way.”
His breath grew faster, shallower, as he jerked closer and closer to his release. It spurred me on, my finger pressing down harder as I rubbed my clit.
“Slow down. I don’t want you to come yet.”
“Tease,” Aiden said, but I heard the distinct slowing down of rustling on the line.
“You love it.” I licked my lips, almost tasting him. “You know I’d suck you right up to that edge, right before you come, then I’d stop.” Aiden gave a shaky moan. “I said stop.”
“Fuck, Sage, I—”
“Good boy.” A strangled sigh floated into my ear, and I knew he’d listened to my instruction. It made my pussy clench just thinking about the power I had over him in this moment.
“Did you stop too?”
I nodded, then realized he had no idea I was doing that. “I’ve stopped. My clit is so swollen, though, Aiden. So hard it’s throbbing. I need to touch it. I need to stroke it out to make it better.”
He seemed to perk up at this, the subtle swing in control.
“Do it, babe. I want you to slide your fingers over that clit until you come hard for me.”
He started stroking his cock at the same time, and our shaky breaths mingled together.
“You know why I stopped, right?”
“You want me to come—” He disappeared for a solid three seconds. “—come inside you.”
I exhaled a low groan, sliding two fingers over my quivering hole, pulling out, then sliding deeper. Two more times I teased myself this way, then moaned into my phone.
“Oh, Aiden, I wanna crawl over you and slide my tight, soaking pussy onto your thick cock. I wanna feel you stretching me.”
“I’d kill to have your pussy wrapped around me right now. Squeezing me.”
“Yeah?” I pulled my fingers out, rubbing over my solid clit, then rocked my hips as I pushed back inside, working myself slow and deep. “What would you do, Aiden? What would you do if you had my pussy on you?”
“Let you ride me, of course. Let you take what you want, what you need. Because, fuck, Sage, I love how you move on top of me. But if you keep teasing me like this…” His throaty whisper was tense, and I knew what it meant.
My toes curled at the memory of his dick exploding inside me, how he always thrust so deep, sheathing himself, and it made my hips jerk upward, pussy aching to be filled with him.
“You didn’t finish your sentence,” I said with a grin. “What would you do if I keep teasing? If I leaned over you and lifted my pussy almost right off your cock?”
He groaned, long and low, the sound curling into a growl as his answer hissed from between clenched teeth. “I’d shove my rock-hard cock right back inside you, roll you over, and fuck you so fucking hard from behind.”
At his words I sped the rhythm of my fingers, imagining him on top of me, needing him pressed against me, his heat and pressure bearing down on me as he pounded my soaking pussy.
I moaned his name, “Fuck, yes, Aiden.”
He continued, his breath quickening again, “I’d flip you over again. Wrap your gorgeous legs around my waist, squeeze those perfect breasts, kiss your soft lips… fuck, I love your lips.”
“I love yours.” I pumped my fingers harder, faster, curling them to press against that sensitive spot, craving how he felt between my legs, against my chest. How his hands felt on my breasts, and the fiery friction when he brought his mouth to my nipples.
My breath caught in my throat at my quickly rising climax. “Aiden, I’m close. Keep talking.”
“I’m gonna run my hands down your sides, grab your tight ass, and pull your hips tight against mine. I wanna be as deep inside you as possible when you come. To feel the way your tight little pussy squeezes me. So. Fucking. Good.”
“Fuck, Aiden, Oh, God!” My body jerked roughly as my orgasm hit me with a rolling force that nearly sent my phone flying. I kept my fingers deep inside, pressed tight against my G-spot as I rode out my release.
His voice got all choked-up, no longer breathing. I might’ve heard some semblance of my name floating through the phone but couldn’t be sure. My ears were ringing. All I made out was the rough thrashing coming from Aiden’s side, then finally a euphoric groan that carried on for ages.
Steadily coming down from my high, I slowly moved my fingers in and out again, the remnants of my climax pulsing around me. “I miss you, Aiden.”
“Miss you too, Sage.”
I had such a clear image of him in my head.
Sitting in his truck in that parking lot, shadows creeping over the window as he tightened his hand around his cock to stroke out the last drops of his tension.
I pulled out my wet fingers to rub over my sensitive clit again, shuddering at the thought of him thinking of me while he jerked off.
“Home tomorrow,” I whispered, then yawned despite my desperation to stay with him.
“Tomorrow.”
I must’ve drifted off, because my eyes flew open when Aiden’s alarmed voice shot through the phone.
“Shit.”
“What? What happened?”
My mind raced. Had someone seen him there in his truck with his dick out? I felt heat creep into my face that had nothing to do with desire.
“Check your phone,” he said then.
I pulled it away from my ear, trembling again for no real reason, and saw a message from him. A screenshot. I skipped over the headline automatically, eyes zeroing in on the picture.
It was us—Aiden and me, slipping out of Purple Rose late at night. Caught laughing, shoulder to shoulder, the kind of candid that made my stomach drop in delight and terror at once.
“Shit,” I whispered. Then I read the headline:
Surge’s new glory boy in love?
Notifications exploded across my screen as if my contacts had sensed the realization as it happened. Ramona, Melvin, people I hadn’t spoken to since elementary school…
A weird feeling churned in my gut, and something very close to panic took over.
I’d gone viral, and there wasn’t a goddamn thing I could do about it.