29. Nolan
Nolan
E xhaustion follows me onto the plane.
When we travel for games, we arrive a day early, sometimes two, but we always fly home after the game.
Hudson collapses into the empty seat across from me, next to Grey.
I twist off the cap of the sports drink that was handed to me upon boarding and down half of it in one gulp.
Coach Krueger drops into the seat beside me. The coaching staff never sits in the back with us, they always remain upfront.
“That was a big risk.” I’m not sure who he’s directing the comment to, maybe all of us.
Hudson shrugs. “You can’t have great wins without great risks, right?” It’s a line Evelyn uses.
“You guys haven’t even practiced that play,” Krueger points out.
“It was the right call,” I tell him.
His smile is faint, barely perceptible as he passes me his phone. It’s a headline, talking about our game and how there are now only four undefeated teams in the league. The first paragraph highlights our final play, calling us unmatched and a guaranteed favorite pick to win this year.
It feels as though a veil of protection has just been thrown over our shoulders, reminding me of Hadley’s suggestion to defy Peters and allow our skills to prove to Peters and others that we could do more than run his same tired and recycled plays.
Krueger takes his phone and returns to the front with the other coaches without another word.
When I make it home, it’s past midnight.
Hadley and Hannah are in the kitchen. Hadley’s washing dishes while Hannah sits across from her, jotting something in a notebook as she nods.
Their conversation ceases as I step into the house.
Hannah closes the notebook, clutching it to her chest as they look at me with matching conspiratorial expressions.
“Hey,” Hadley calls, smiling. Her voice is warm and welcoming, sending heat, desire, and comfort through me with the single word. Her gaze connects with mine, expressing the same level of anticipation and relief I feel every time she’s near.
“What are you two planning?” I ask, dropping my duffel bag beside the door to take down to the basement.
“World domination,” Hadley says.
Hannah chuckles as she gets to her feet. “I’m heading to bed. Nice game tonight, Nolan. Carsen was a little worried, but the rest of us knew you guys were going to pull off the win.”
I smirk, ready to admit I wasn’t.
Hannah passes me and heads for the stairs while Hadley rinses the pot she’d been washing and sets it on a towel to dry. Her hair is up, and the small gold rings in her ears gleam in the kitchen lights.
My exhaustion is forgotten, replaced by my desire to hear about her days since she’s been gone.
Hear her laugh and earn that smile I crave as much as my own breath.
I swallow the distance between us in two steps and set my hands on her waist, taking in the faint scents of chocolate mingling with the scent of her shampoo and perfume that has blood whooshing through my body.
“God, you smell good. What have you been cooking?” I press a kiss just below her ear to hear the near-silent gasp I knew she’d make.
“We made brownies.” She points at a plate of brownies near the microwave. “Are you hungry?”
“Mmmm,” I say, kissing her jaw. “But not for brownies.”
She leans her head back on my shoulder, her body relaxed and warm under my touch.
“What kind of prank are you planning, mastermind?”
“An axe may or may not be involved.”
I chuckle, and before she can expect anything or move, I spin her to face me and hoist her over my shoulder. “Time for interrogations, then.”
I descend the stairs to the basement where I drop Hadley on my bed, barely giving her a chance to breathe through her laughter before I’m reaching for the waistband of her sweats, pulling them and her underwear down with one fell swoop.
I drop to my knees and run my tongue over her seam, making her lose a breath.
“Tell me you missed me,” I say, licking her again. “Tell me you missed my mouth on you.”
She hums a reply, her fingers making purchase in the blankets.
“Words, Cutlass.” I lick her again.
“I always miss you,” she says, her voice deep, filled with lust.
I slip a finger inside of her and aim my tongue at her most sensitive point.
Hadley moans as the muscles in her legs contract.
I press one thigh to the mattress, gripping her as I devour her with my tongue, and slide a second finger inside of her.
I work her until her breaths are gasps and I know she’s about to come apart, and I stop, pulling my fingers and mouth from her.
Hadley groans in protest, eyes flashing to me and then the stairs.
“What’s your prank, Cutlass?”
“You sound worried.”
I press two fingers inside of her, making her jaw drop with pleasure. “Take off your sweatshirt, Cutlass.”
She does, throwing it to the floor and removing her bra before I can request it goes, too.
I pull her nipple between my lips, sucking and then brushing my tongue over the peak in time with my fingers thrusting inside of her.
Her breaths grow ragged, the start of her orgasm coming even faster. Once again, I stop.
Hadley’s eyes are on me in a second, bright with confusion and frustration.
“What’s your prank, Cutlass?”
She growls. “I’m this close to punching you,” she warns, holding up two fingers with only a sliver of air between them. “There is no prank”
I chuckle. “I know, but think about how good your release is going to feel,” I say, trailing my fingers over her folds, wet and swollen from my ministrations.
Her breath catches. “I swear, if you stop again—” She gasps as I circle her entrance.
“Just one more time,” I tell her, repeating the same pattern, and pressing against her clit with my thumb. I lean down to kiss her. “I swear. Just one last time.”
She bends her legs and spreads them wider. I slide two fingers inside of her. She moans with ecstasy shifting her hips higher to take more of my fingers. I pump them inside of her and then pull out to circle her and slide back in. She moans and grinds her hips against my hand.
I use my free hand to rub along her clit, feasting on every moan that brings her closer to her release. Her body begins to shake, and her breaths grow shallow. She’s seconds from climaxing, and once again, I stop.
Hadley drops her head back, releasing a guttural sound.
I lose my clothes and roll a condom over my erection.
I close her legs, and roll her to her side, before pulling her to the edge of the mattress. I thrust inside of her, watching her spine snap straight.
She breathes a soft moan as I give her a second to adjust to my cock, admiring the sight of our bodies joined.
I ease out of her slowly and then back in with the same unhurried pace. Sweat builds on my brow as blood rushes through me, urging me to thrust faster, harder.
Instead, I move my hips, changing the angle as I slide into her again, eliciting another groan. The sound of her pleasure has my blood growing hotter, encouraging my thrusts to grow faster. The height of the mattress is too low for me to move inside of her as either of us wants.
“Flip to your knees,” I tell her. With me still inside of her, she rolls to her stomach and props up on her knees, giving me the perfect angle and view as I slam into her.
Hadley drops her face into my bed and releases a long moan that has me ready to come apart.
I slip my finger to her clit, and thrust, until her moans become gasps, and then her back arches, and her hands tangle in the blankets as she cries my name with the sound of her release.
My movements become faster, and less rhythmic and then I fall over the same edge, my orgasm so strong it has me sagging over her, my face against her spine.
Neither of us moves for a second, both of us working to catch our breaths. I kiss along her spine as I slowly slip out of her, trailing my fingers along her bare skin as she rolls to her side, appearing like she’s ready to pass out for a week.
“How was that?” I ask.
“I don’t know if that was the best orgasm or the most frustrating orgasm,” she says, eyes still closed. “I seriously thought I was going to combust for a hot minute.”
I chuckle, running my hands over her thighs. “I wouldn’t have let you combust.”
She opens one eye. “I’m pretty sure there’s ash on my skin.” She half-heartedly raises a hand to me.
I smile and kiss the back of her hand. “I like making you burn for me.”
She grins as she closes her eye again. “I like that you text me in the middle of the night when you’re traveling.”
“I couldn’t sleep without your cold feet against me.”
“Cold feet? I sleep with socks.”
“And I can still feel how cold they are.”
She laughs a rich wonderful sound. “Hence the socks.”
“I missed you, Cutlass.”
I awaken to an empty bed. The place that Hadley is supposed to fill is cold, revealing she’s been up for a while.
I mutter a protest and pull on some clothes. She was right, the basement feels like a freezer now that it’s dipping into the cooler temperatures at night.
I find Hadley in the kitchen, mixing bowls covering the countertops, and pots on every burner of the stove.
“Is an army coming over for breakfast?” I ask, blinking at the bright light streaming through the window over the sink.
“Close,” Hannah, says, setting a vase of flowers on the table.
“Oh. Those are pretty,” Katie says. “I love chrysanthemums.” She sets two mini pumpkins on either side of the arrangement.
“What are you guys doing? And why are you all awake? You guys are usually like vampires, sleeping until noon on the weekends.”
“Hadley,” Katie says.
I turn my attention to Hadley as she finishes ladling batter into the waffle iron. The scents of gingerbread hit my nose, warm with hints of cinnamon and vanilla.