Chapter 28
28
“What are we doing here?” I ask when Jack drags me over to the park beside the arena in Cleveland. I helped Shonda unload the trailer this morning while the guys were at the hospital meaning we both have a free afternoon.
“Pickleball.”
“Pickleball?”
“Yeah. It’s the fastest growing sport in America?” he replies, staring at me as if I live under a rock.
“Is it really?”
“I don’t know but it sounds right.”
“You’re ridiculous.”
“Yeah but you like me, anyway. Now come on, let’s play!” He puts down the bag I didn’t realize he was carrying and pulls out two pickleball paddles and a ball. After briefly explaining the rules we give it a go. A few games later and one instructional video I come to a few conclusions .
The first is that the reason no one else is out here on this gorgeous summer day is because it is way too hot. The second is that while he may have the body of an athlete, my boyfriend is terrible at this game.
When he dragged me out here earlier and turned his ball cap backwards, I was ready to do anything the man wanted. What is it about a man in a backwards hat that is so damn appealing? It should be illegal for one outfit tweak to make a girl weak in the knees. I suspect the move was intentional since wearing it forward would have been more practical. At least I would suspect that if he was actually good at this game and trying to get a leg up.
“Jack,” I state calmly as the ball bounces past him once again.
“Yeah?” he replies, wiping his brow. The only perk to the heat is the sight of Jack in a backward baseball cap. It doesn’t do much to hold back his hair, but it does a lot of my libido.
“I mean this in the nicest way possible, but you suck.”
He barks out a laugh as if he didn’t expect me to comment on his abysmal pickleball skills, but voices his agreement. “I know.”
“You know?”
“I know.”
“If you know you’re bad then why are we doing this?” I question.
He shrugs in response. “I enjoy it.”
“You enjoy it even though you’re bad at it?”
“Yep.”
“Shouldn’t you have brought someone out here who knows what they’re doing to help you get better? You could easily afford an instructor.”
“I don’t need an instructor,” he laughs. “I’m not trying to go to the Pickleball Championships. I do this for fun, not to compete. ”
“Winning is fun.”
“Yes, my little overachiever, it is. But if I only did things I could win at, I would miss out on a lot, don’t you think?”
I think my brain may have short-circuited because I have no response to that. My entire life has been focused on achievements and checking boxes. The idea of doing something I don’t know if I would excel at or not is unfathomable.
As if a lightbulb went off, I now see my entire collegiate life much more clearly. I am afraid to fail. I won’t even try out a career because I am scared it won’t pan out. What’s the worst that could happen, I have to get another job?
Jack must sense the epiphany I am undergoing because he lets me stand there in my thoughts for a while. Breaking the silence, he says, “There was another reason I wanted to try out pickleball with you.”
“What reason was that?”
“I had to come up with something to see if you were as sexy as I imagined in that lilac skort.”
Peering down at my legs, I scan over the purple garment Jack met me with after his trip to the hospital.
“What’s the verdict?”
“Way hotter than I could have dreamed. If you let me take you back to the bus, I’ll show you how much.”
A heady thrill runs through me at the prospect. “Lead the way.”
When we get back to the bus we take turns showering before Jack meets me in the bedroom. Grayson and Declan are somewhere entertaining Paris, leaving us alone on the bus. I don’t know how Jack managed to miss the outing, but I’m glad he did.
I’m finishing up my braid when Jack enters the room. With wet hair and a towel around his waist, I am having déjà vu to my first night on the tour. Through the mirror, I notice the expansion of his sleeve. It now extends from his shoulder over his entire left pec.
Standing up to examine it more closely, I notice Jack holding his breath. Tracking my fingers along the new designs, I bring my eyes up to his. “Wildflowers?”
The left side of Jack’s chest is covered in a field of wildflowers.
“Why?” I ask.
The question elicits a soft grin as he runs the callus pad of his thumb across my cheek bone. “Because I wanted a representation of what’s in my heart over my heart.”
The confession almost guts me. It isn’t my name, but it might as well be for the claim it represents. This man inked me to his body and I find my reaction is joy. And lust.
Watching me cautiously, I realize Jack must have expected me to get emotional. I’m not a big crier, though. And this did not make me sad. It made me happy and horny. Deciding to show him my appreciation instead of telling him since I can’t seem to get any words out, I tug on the knot of his towel until it flutters to the ground.
Following it down, I grip the base of his cock and stare up at him from my knees.
“Baby, you don’t have to—that’s not why I—holy shit.” I cut off his denial by licking the tip of his cock and swirling my tongue around it. I know I don’t have to suck his cock, but damn if I don’t want to.
Once I’ve gotten him wet with my tongue, I slowly envelop him with my mouth. Taking as much of him as I can, I use my hand to twist his exposed shaft in time with my bobs. When he lets out a guttural groan, a thrill runs through me and I take him even deeper.
Pulling back when I gag, I use the saliva to coat him before sucking him back into my mouth. I jolt when Jack slams his hands onto the mirror behind me, but when he doesn’t move further, I continue my efforts. Between his curses and praises, my own need increases. If he keeps it up, I’m going to need the hand fondling his balls to rub between my legs.
As if he can sense my desire, Jack pulls back dick sliding out of my mouth. When I try to chase it, he stops me. “No more of that. I want to come in your pussy, not down your throat.”
Pulling me up to stand, he turns me toward the bed. “Get on all fours and stick that sexy ass out for me, baby. It’s my turn to play.”