25. Lance
twenty-five
Lance
Present
It’s been five days since Gwen and I went to Las Vegas and eloped.
Five days since I saw my beautiful wife in the flesh, and it’s driving me crazy.
We didn’t get to spend our wedding night alone because we stayed up gambling with our friends until I had to leave with the guys for a stretch of games in Arizona and Texas, and for the first time in my career, being on the road sucked.
All I wanted was to be back in LA, back with Gwen.
I pace the length of my living room, burning a hole into the rug, as I anxiously await her arrival.
Tonight, she is officially moving in, and I can’t decide if I’m more excited or terrified about her moving into my place.
Probably both. I haven’t lived with someone since college, and I’m pretty sure it doesn’t count when you’re sharing a dorm room with a teammate who throws his sweaty jocks on the floor.
This is the first time I will be living with a woman. A woman who captivated me with her aqua eyes and her friendly personality. She had me wrapped around her finger as soon as she sat beside me on the cold concrete and spoke.
Now we’re married, and she’s going to be living in my home.
Tilting my head from side to side, I grip my neck and massage the tightness from my muscles. The tension makes the muscles in my neck and back hard as rocks.
It’s too late to back down now. I want Gwen, and that’s all that matters.
I just hope she likes this place. I’ve been here for the past two years, and it still doesn’t feel like home to me.
Maybe with her here it will?
Maybe. I’m just worried about the possibility of the plan I concocted blowing up in my face. Gwen has already been quick to remind me that our marriage is temporary, and that scares me.
Closing my eyes, I breathe. Four counts in and out.
My brain feels as if it’s going to explode. I can’t seem to get out of my head. It’s become a quicksand of thoughts, feelings, and questions, and the word temporary is like hands grabbing my feet and pulling me under, and the more I fight them, the deeper I sink.
Temporary.
Fuck that.
It didn’t feel temporary when I was planning our wedding or saying “I do.” Or when we filled out the wedding license. Or when I booked the hotel and planned the ceremony.
It didn’t feel temporary when she walked in wearing the pink bridal gown I picked out for her.
Our marriage didn’t feel temporary when the officiant announced us husband and wife. And it sure as hell didn’t feel temporary when I wrapped her in my arms and kissed her senseless.
Sparks flew when I claimed her lips and reignited the fire between us.
I know Gwen felt it too. She melted into me, kissing me back with equal fervor. If I hadn’t broken the connection when I did, I wasn’t sure I would ever be able to stop.
Fucking hell.
I think I’m going crazy.
Crazy for Gwen.
I can’t get the image of her looking drop-dead gorgeous in the dress I picked out for her to wear. One look at Gwen, and my heart skipped a beat and my cock roared to life. The high ponytail, the curls, the soft pink lips—she was exactly how I’d envisioned.
Bewitching.
I dig my phone out of my pocket and check the time again. It’s close to sunset. Gwen texted an hour ago, letting me know she was on her way over. I offered to send a car, but she was adamant about driving herself.
Guilt gnaws at my intestines. I kind of feel like an asshole for forcing her to move into my house without asking about her living situation. I don’t know where she lives or if she has a roommate.
Yup. Total asshole.
I’ve had plenty of opportunities to ask.
When I was on the road, Gwen and I texted each other every day.
Multiple times a day. Any chance I got, I asked about her day and what she was doing.
I asked about her likes and dislikes, gathering details and gaining insight into who Gwen is and what makes her tick.
She’s incredibly witty, slightly sarcastic, and a tad goofy. And I am so fucking here for it.
The security alarm for the front gate chirps, and my heart leaps behind my ribs, hammering against its cage.
I click open the video feed to find Gwen staring at the gate and her knuckles squeezing the life out of the steering wheel. Seeing how nervous she appears on camera helps me to find my center and recalibrate. She needs me to be calm and supportive. Moving in with me is a big deal.
Hell, marrying me was a big deal. It’s a lot of change for both of us.
Taking a deep breath, I focus on bringing my heart rate down, then tap the button to open the gate. I slip on a pair of shoes by the door and make my way outside.
Seconds later, a small white Mini Cooper rolls up and around the circular driveway, and I can’t help but chuckle. The few times I’ve seen Gwen in the parking lot at work, I couldn’t figure out where she came from, and now I know why.
In a sea of sports cars, SUVs, and trucks, her tiny car goes unnoticed.
The compact car stops in front of me, and the passenger window rolls down.
I squat low and peer inside. “Hey.”
She pushes her sunglasses to the top of her head, giving me the perfect view of her eyes. Gwen smiles, taking my breath away. “Hi.”
My stomach flips at the sound of her soft voice.
“Did you find the place okay?” I ask, clearing my throat.
“Yep. No problem. Where do you want me to park?” She glances around, trying to get a view of the house through the window.
“Here is fine. I’ll pull your car into the garage later.” I point straight ahead to the four-car garage draped in wood beams, stone, and ivy.
Gwen’s gaze turns on me, and she smirks at me. “Do you think you can fit in here?”
I can’t help that her question triggers visions of her struggling to slip down my fat cock and ride me in the back of the cab. Said cock rises at attention and my voice drops low, thick with lust. “Oh, I’ll fit.”
Gwen’s cheeks turn the prettiest shade of pink. “Just open the garage door, you dirty knight.”
Dirty knight?
“As you wish.” I gesture a bow with my head and hand. From my phone, I tap the garage door open.
“Wesley was a pirate, not a knight,” she quips as she takes her foot off the brake and drives off.
A deep laugh bubbles out of me as I watch her pull into the garage.
This is going to be fun.
Gwen takes the empty spot beside my navy-blue Mercedes wagon and kills the engine. The trunk pops open, and I’m at the driver’s side door, opening it and extending my hand for her to take before she can get out of the car.
“Thank you.” She places her small hand in mine and slides out of her seat.
Electricity flows between us, and her powdery floral scent wraps around me as she stands, reminding me of home.
“You’re welcome.” On instinct, my eyes drink her in from head to toe.
Damn.
I think Gwen is trying to kill me.
My little wife is wearing some sexy strappy sandals that tie around her calves and ankles, some silky-looking white short-shorts, and a matching white tank top that bares just a sliver of her waist.
Fighting the urge to pull her into my arms and kiss her, I release her hand, relishing in the lingering heat of her touch against my palm. “How was the drive?”
“Long. There was more traffic than I expected.” She sighs, draping a pink suit jacket in the crook of her arm.
“Sorry about that.” I take her jacket, and in three strides I’m at the back of the car, watching her shrug.
“It’s fine, Lance.”
I lift the trunk lid and growl. “What the fuck is this?”
“My suitcase?” Gwen asks. Her honey-colored eyebrows pinch together in confusion.
Reaching in, I lift the hot pink suitcase and place it on the floor between us. This fucking bag is carry-on size. There is no way she packed more than a week’s worth of clothes in this tiny-ass thing. And to think the smallest thing I thought I’d see today was her car.
“I thought we agreed you would move in. This is barely an overnight bag.” I point at the tiny-ass suitcase.
She grabs the handle and drags the suitcase closer to her. “I guarantee that there is more than a weekend’s worth of clothes in here.”
Again, the word temporary flashes in my head like a neon sign.
I’m pissed. It’s as if she’s not even trying to make our marriage look real.
“Fine,” I grumble, not wanting to blow up. I grab the suitcase from her hands and march toward the house.
“Lance, wait.” She grips my forearm, forcing me to stop and look at her.
“I’m sorry. I was going to pack more. Then I thought it would be dumb to since you’re going to go on the road again in five days, so I was going to stay at my place when you were gone.
It’s closer to the stadium and, to be honest, it seemed weird to stay at your place without you here. ”
The sizzle of my anger dwindles.
She’s as anxious about this situation as I am. I don’t like that she doesn’t want to stay here when I’m gone, but I can’t take the choice away from her. She has to want to be here when I’m not.
“You’re right. I’m sorry for overreacting.”
“It’s okay.” Her hand falls away from my arm, and a smile curls her lips up. “I like this.”
“Like what?” I ask.
She shrugs. “That I can talk to you. Say what I’m thinking, and you accept it, no questions. You just listen. It’s nice.”
“I’m pretty sure I just did a shit job, but I’ll do better.”
“You’re doing better than you think,” she says, making my chest tight. “Come on.”
Gwen walks ahead of me toward the house, and I watch her hips sway with each step. My eyes fall to her hourglass figure and pert ass. She turns around and laughs.
Busted.
Walking backward, she shakes her head at me and smirks. “Are you going to keep standing there staring at my ass, or are you going to show me your place?”
As if enchanted by her spell, my feet move of their own accord.
“Coming, dear,” I call out.
To be clear, I could stare at her sexy ass all day long.