CHAPTER 35
GRAYDON
“I could not eat another piece of food,” Maple says as she snuggles into my chest on the bench seat.
I have my feet propped up along the long stretch of the bench while my back leans against the L part.
She is lying on top of me, her head tucked into my chest while I drape a blanket over the both of us.
Bulbed lights hang above us and the night sky is dark, almost black, with no other lights nearby.
This evening could not have been more perfect—well, minus the tofu.
“Thank you for tonight.” Her lips find my neck, then my jaw, and I fucking settle in as I let her just love on me because I can’t get enough of it.
It’s like I’ve been depleted of all physical and intimate touch, and now that I have it, I need to fill up, but only from her.
I want nothing but her.
“You don’t need to thank me.”
“You always say that, but you need to realize I like to show how grateful I am.”
“Show me in another way,” I say as my hand skims up and down her back.
“Are you asking for sexual favors, Graydon St. John?”
A rumble of a laugh comes out of me. “When it comes to you, I’ll ask for anything.”
“Clearly.” Her fingers dance along my chest. “What will the upcoming season entail? Do I need to prepare for anything? Like am I going to miss seeing you a lot? Is there going to have to be a long-distance thing where we do phone sex?”
“I’m not going to deny you phone sex if you’re interested, but our schedule isn’t like other sports teams since we only play one game a week.”
“So you’re around a lot?”
“Typically, yeah. I’m usually just gone on Saturdays and Sundays if it’s an away game, but back home late Sunday night. During the week, it’s practices, game review, and treatment, but I’ll still be able to see you at night like we do now.”
“Oh.” She lifts up to look at me. “Why did I think that some hellish travel time was going to start for you?”
“Not sure, but you can’t get rid of me that easily.”
“I would never. I need you to wash the dishes for the flamingos.”
“Funny,” I say. “I might have to cut out on that responsibility and focus more on the media stuff like Flock and Tackle and taking pictures that boast about the zoo.”
“Oh no, you don’t. Just because the season started doesn’t mean you can cut out on your responsibilities.”
“I’m beyond washing dishes, Baker.”
“Yeah, but the one time I brought you into the exhibit, you wouldn’t get close to the flamingos.”
“Because their beady eyes were looking at me weird.”
“Oh my God.” She laughs. “You’re ridiculous.”
“No, I’m cautious.”
“You really think a flamingo could hurt you?”
“Yeah, and I’m not taking the risk.”
She shakes with laughter on top of me. “Fine, I’ll find some pretty pose you can stand in and take pictures with the flamingos…with something between you.”
“Whatever you think is best.” I kiss the top of her head.
“I want you to know that I didn’t fear the giant men out on the field.”
“It’s because you’re braver than me.”
“Clearly.” She nuzzles against my chest for a second. “I don’t have to worry about you traveling for extended periods of time during the season. I get to go to games and wear your name on the back of my shirt…What about postgame activities?”
“What about them?” I ask.
“What kind of postgame activities are there? For instance, is it mandatory for me to go home with you?”
“Yeah, it’s part of the contract.”
“What contract?” she asks.
“The contract that you signed to be in the PR relationship. There was fine print that said if we become real, then you must go home with me, especially after games.”
“Fine print, huh?”
“Yeah, that’s why you should always read it.”
“You know, you’re a lot more easygoing when relaxed.”
“Isn’t everyone?”
“Possibly.” She kisses my neck again. “I like you like this. I like the snarly side of you too, but I also like hearing your voice, and when you’re relaxed, you talk more.”
“You like my voice?”
“Oh my God, yes. It’s so smooth. Sometimes dark, a lot of the time gruff. I remember when you first opened your mouth and you said mean things about flamingos, I thought, ‘That was rude,’ but also, ‘He has a sexy voice.’”
“Don’t think I’ve ever been told that.”
“I feel like if this football thing doesn’t pan out—”
“Feels like it is panning out.”
“But if it doesn’t…you could possibly read for one of those nighttime apps where you help put people to sleep or, better yet, one of those erotic ones where you say naughty things and turn people on.”
“And how do you know of such a thing?”
I can practically feel her eye roll as she says, “Social media, of course.”
“Uh-huh.” I continue to run my hand up and down her back. “Are you into some dirty stuff, and I don’t know about it?”
“I mean, I don’t know much, which feels embarrassing to say in front of you, someone who practically held me upside down while pounding into me, but I’m open to things.”
“Hey,” I say softly. “You never have to be embarrassed around me, okay?”
“I know, but I can’t help it at times.” She lifts up and looks me in the eyes. “You know when I was blowing you last night?”
I nearly choke on my saliva, because where did that come from? “Uh, yeah, hard to forget.”
“Was I doing it right? I always worry that I’m not doing enough.”
“Maple, you did plenty, more than enough. In fact, I hate that you mentioned it because just thinking about your mouth on my cock is going to make me hard.”
“Do you not want to be hard while floating on a boat in the ocean?”
“Preferably not.”
“You know, they showed us a bedroom…”
“Don’t even think about it,” I say.
“Really?” she asks, surprised. “I would have for sure thought you would be someone who would take advantage of the opportunity to do something like that.”
“Not with you,” I answer. “Maybe with a random, just to get off, but you’re more sacred, and I’m not about to fuck you and have the staff here on the yacht listen to you moan. That’s for my ears.”
“Oh. That’s…kind of sweet.”
“It’s the goddamn truth. You’re mine. Your moans are mine. This body is mine. Those lips are mine. Everything about you is mine, and I don’t plan on sharing one single bit of you. Not even for a quick fuck out on the ocean.”
“Well.” She leans in and lightly kisses my lips. “Oddly, that might be the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard.”
“Will you show me how to paint something one day?” Maple asks as we head back to shore, our yacht currently traveling under the Golden Gate Bridge. It’s massive, a feat of engineering that I don’t think I will ever be able to wrap my head around.
“What do you want to paint?”
“What do you think I want to paint?”
I chuckle. “A flamingo.”
“How did you know?”
“Lucky guess.” I kiss the top of her head. “How about this? We have a naked painting night.”
“If we’re naked, we won’t actually get anything done.”
“Not true. I know a lot of things we can get done.”
“Graydon.”
“What?”
She lifts up to look me in the eyes. “You know if we’re naked, the only thing that will happen is you on top of me.”
“That’s not entirely true. I prefer you on top of me sometimes as well.”
She rolls her eyes and then snuggles back into my chest. “How about we compromise: with every five minutes that tick by as you teach me, I will take off an article of clothing.”
“How many articles of clothing do you plan on wearing? Just a towel? Then I’m in.”
“Oh my God, Graydon, seriously, why are you so…horny?”
“Not horny, just obsessed with you.” I drag my fingers over her back, absorbing my words.
Because, yeah, I’m pretty obsessed, and it feels like it hit me out of nowhere.
Well, maybe that’s not the case. It’s been building, and I’ve been ignoring the feelings. But now that I’ve accepted them, I’m all in.
I kiss the top of her head again. “Is an obsession such a bad thing?”
“No,” she says softly. “As long as it’s okay for me to be obsessed as well. I don’t want to come off too needy.”
“Did you hear the tantrum I threw when you sat in a chair that wasn’t my lap?”
She laughs. “You said you weren’t throwing a fit.”
“It could have been worse. Not sure you’re aware how much of a fit I can really throw.”
“Something I would treasure seeing.”
“And yet you stopped me from chucking a chair.”
“It’s close quarters here, and throwing a chair is never safe. But if we were in an open field where no one could be harmed, and you decided to start stomping your foot and huffing in displeasure, then that’s something I for sure would want to see.”
“Why do I feel like you find pleasure in my discomfort?”
“I don’t know. You’re this big, grumpy guy, so seeing you act like a child is kind of funny.”
I tickle her side, causing her to laugh. “I see where your head’s at, Baker.”
“Hey, no tickling.” She squirms on top of me.
“You ticklish?”
“Yes, and unless you want a knee to your junk, I would refrain from tickling me.”
“Ouch. Noted.”
We pull into the harbor, the boat slowing and our time out on the sea coming to an end.
“I’m sad. I don’t want to leave.”
“Want me to ask them to go back out? I can.”
She shakes her head. “No, I know we need to get back. I’m just so comfortable.”
“So am I.”
“This has been such a wonderful date. Thank you, Graydon. You spoiled me. I’ve never been on a date like this.”
“Then clearly you haven’t been with the right people.”
“I’ve come to figure that out,” she says softly. After a few moments of silence, she asks, “Now that you’re going to be playing games on Sundays, when are you going to visit your mom?” She pauses for a second and then says, “And if that is too much of a personal question, I’m really sorry.”
“I’m an open book to you now,” I say. “You don’t need to apologize.”
“I just never want to push you too far.”
“You won’t,” I say. “And I’ll visit her on Mondays.”
“Well, if you ever need me to go with you, I can wait in the car while you visit and then hold your hand after. You just let me know. I hate that you have to go through that alone.”
I feel my breath constrict in my chest because…
shit, I’ve never had anyone go with me. Not even when Mom was first admitted to her living facility.
My nanny would drop me off, and I would go in by myself, so this…
this is different. Do I want her there? Do I want her to see the devastation that sinks into me when my mom doesn’t recognize me?
“I’m sorry, I don’t know why I said that. Don’t feel like you need to answer,” she says before I can respond. She lifts up to look me in the eyes. “I’m just…I like helping and—”
I press my thumb to her lips as I cup her jaw. “Don’t apologize.”
“But I overstepped.”
“You didn’t.” I shake my head. “I was just surprised is all. No one has ever visited with me, ever.”
“No one?” she asks as she straddles my lap now, my hands falling to her waist, keeping her in place. “Not even your dad?”
“Especially not my dad. Not sure he’s even aware what the facility looks like.”
“That’s terrible.”
“That’s him, though, a terrible human being.”
“I’m sorry you have to deal with that. You deserve so much better.”
“Maybe that’s why you’re here,” I say, looking her in the eyes. “Maybe the universe decided to grace me with someone beautiful in my life to make up for all of the ugly.”
Her expression softens. “Well, I’m here for as long as you want me, need me.”
“That’s going to be a long time. I’m having a hard time getting in my fill. Not sure it will ever be topped off.”
“Good.” She leans forward and kisses me, letting our lips mingle for a few moments before she pulls away. “Are we headed to your apartment after this?”
“What the hell do you think?”
She chuckles. “I think you’re wishing this boat would dock a whole lot quicker.”
“That’s exactly what I’m thinking.”