57. Ben
BEN
It’s the biggest crowd we’ve had at a home game in I don’t know how long. I mean, sure, it’s still only half full. But it’s half full!
It surprises us all as we run onto the court and see a bunch of cheering… fans? I gaze up at the stands, finding a definite one. Jolie is decked out in Nolan U colors, wearing my big hoodie and looking all things adorable.
I grin up at her and she laughs, blowing kisses back at me before sitting down beside a tall Black woman. I have no idea who she is, but Jolie is talking animatedly with her while Coach Paxton rounds us up for final instructions.
“You’ve got this, fellas. I believe in each and every one of you.” He eyes up the circle. “Stick with the strategy we discussed, home in on those mental exercises we’ve been working on, and just let yourselves go with it. You’ve got this. You understand me? This game is ours.”
“Cougars on three!” Darian directs the huddle. “One, two, three.”
“Cougars!” we all shout before breaking away and getting ready for game time.
The referee blows his whistle, flicks up the ball for tip-off, and we’re away, running the plays we’ve been practicing all week.
The ball seems to know exactly what we want it to do as we fire it between us, running up and down the court in smooth lines, making quick passes and staying alert throughout the game.
The crowd continues to cheer us on, their enthusiasm growing as the score ping-pongs back and forth between us and the opponents.
We’re currently ahead by two, and Coach calls a quick time-out, scribbling on his clipboard with arrows and boxes, telling us exactly what he’s observed and how he wants us to take advantage of their weaknesses.
“You got it?”
“Yeah, Coach,” Sawyer puffs.
“Jimmy, stay on 18. He’s our biggest threat tonight, and if anyone can keep him in line, it’s you.”
Jimmy nods, wiping sweat off his forehead, while Coach doles out a few more instructions, and then we break.
The last ten minutes fly by in record time. It’s a hard-fought battle, but Jimmy stays on 18, eventually breaking him and giving us the chance to really get ahead.
I catch the ball firing my way, quickly checking the court and risking a three-pointer. The ball feels good as it leaves my hands, but I still hold my breath until the net swishes and I hear an enthusiastic scream behind me: “Yes, baby! You’re amazing!”
Glancing over my shoulder, I grin at my girl before running back into play.
Energized by the growing gap on the scoreboard, we play like pros and end up winning by seventeen points.
Seventeen!
By the time that final whistle blows, I am done. I’ve given everything to this game. We all did.
But we won.
We fucking won!
“YES!” Sawyer’s jumping on everyone, celebrating wildly while Jimmy stands to the side, catching his breath and staring up at the scoreboard. I have no idea what he’s thinking, but Mac runs over to pull him into the celebrations.
Coach is jumping along with us.
“I knew you could do it! I knew it! This is our season, fellas. It’s our season!”
The celebrations continue back to the locker room… and then to Offside, where I finally get to snag my girl around the waist and lift her off her feet.
“Hey.” She laughs against my cheek before planting her lips on mine.
I deepen the kiss immediately, making out with her by the bar as if we’re in my bedroom. But I don’t care. I’m holding my woman, and I’m celebrating an epic win!
Finally pulling away from her, we smile at each other, lost in a moment before the Black woman Jolie was sitting with interrupts us.
“Jolie promised it would be a good game. She assured me it’d be worth my time, and she was right.”
“Thanks.” I glance at my girl, setting her back down on her feet and holding out my hand to greet this woman.
“I’m Angelica.” She smiles at me. “The new editor-in-chief of the Nolan U Star. Jolie wanted me to see you guys play. She thinks it’s time the Sports Digest did a feature on you, and I say she’s right. You think you and your team will be up for some interviews later this week?”
I grin at the woman. “I’m sure we can make that work.” Then I wrap my arm around Jolie’s waist. “I know a really good reporter who’s great at interviews. Think she could do it for you?”
Angelica smiles between us, then starts to laugh. “Jax will kill me, but I’m gonna say yes. Jolie, you keen?”
“I most definitely am.” She starts to bob on her toes, and I press a kiss to her forehead, wanting to do so much more than that.
I want to celebrate in every way possible, and when we finally drag our asses home, that’s exactly what I do.
She jumps on my back in the driveway, and I carry her up to my room, piggyback style. Flicking the door closed on the wolf whistles and catcalls that follow us up the stairs, I let out a soft laugh, tipping Jolie onto my bed and checking her face.
Is she up for…?
Yep. Look at those eyes. She wants me big-time.
“How, baby? How do you want me?”
She bites her bottom lip, eyeing me up like this is an important decision.
“Well, those clothes will definitely have to go. I want you naked from your head to your feet.”
“Okay.” I start stripping off my jacket, throwing it over my desk chair before pulling off my sweater and Henley shirt.
She watches me with a playful smile on her lips.
“Is it just me getting naked?” I ask with a smirk. “I was kind of hoping for skin-on-skin.”
“Oh, I’ll be naked. I just want to see all of you before you start peeling my clothes off.”
So I deliver, stripping down to my very flesh before crawling onto the bed, unzipping her coat, then delicately unbuttoning her shirt, peppering her exposed skin with kisses as it’s revealed to me.
We’re soon both completely bare, and I’m relishing every inch of her skin sliding against mine. Her body responds to my every touch, her groans magical, her whispered words of encouragement spurring me on.
“Yes. Oh, yes, I love that. That feels so…” Her voice is lost as I take her over the edge, sucking her beautiful tits and making her come with bucking hips and wild groans.
It’s the sexiest thing ever.
“I love you, Ben. I love you,” she whispers, squeezing my arms and catching my eye.
I smile down at her, stretching my body over hers and kissing her deeply.
“I love you too, Jolie.”
She smiles at my soft words, and I start kissing her all over again. It doesn’t take long for her to beg me to enter her, and as soon as I’m suited up, I do. I slide right into her like it’s the most natural thing in the world.
With our hearts thumping against each other, I ride her with slow, easy strokes until I can’t control the heat firing through me.
“Oooo.” I groan into her ear, then pant against her neck, thrusting my hips deep and releasing inside her.
She wraps her legs around me, clinging tight as I empty my heart and soul right into her body.
Fuck, she’s amazing.
I never saw her coming.
I didn’t even want a woman, but she found me anyway. She stole my heart, and she can keep it. I’ve got hers, safe and secure, and deep down, I know that neither of us will be giving them back.
She’s mine.
I’m hers.
And this thing we’ve got going is for keeps.