Epilogue
“Finally,” Everett groaned. “Finally, I’m home.” He picked me up and walked us toward our bedroom. “That was the longest damn game of my life. And the longest flight, and the longest drive from the airport. You know why?”
I shook my head, but I was kissing his neck so he might not have noticed.
“It’s because I missed you so damn much. I wish you could have come.”
“I missed you, too,” I assured him. “It was busy around here but I thought about you all the time.”
He turned and gently toppled backwards onto our bed, bringing me with him. “That’s better. This is what I needed,” he said as we cuddled.
“You played great, though.” After his first season as the starter, he had never returned to the bench.
Kayden Matthews, the former QB, had retired to be with his family and his miniature donkey.
Some other faces had also changed along the way but six years later, Everett was still leading them to victory.
And six years later, he was still coming home to me.
He started asking questions about all the things that had happened in his absence and as we talked, he was deftly removing our clothes. Soon enough, we were naked but it was fine. Our house had great temperature control.
He pulled me against his body, spooning me. “Do you know what I was thinking about?”
“I believe that I do,” I answered as he slid his palms over my breasts. “Oh, that’s nice.”
“My hands aren’t too cold?”
“No…it’s perfect.” He was massaging carefully until I pressed into his fingers. Then he rubbed harder and toyed with my nipples, too, which was exactly what I’d wanted.
“I was definitely thinking about this,” he confirmed, “but I was also wanting to hear you play that…was it Mendelssohn that you performed for your class?”
When we had been dating and before we’d gotten engaged, he had purchased a beautiful baritone horn for me.
My sister had told him that he was going to be sorry, but it hadn’t seemed to happen yet.
Her daughter was fascinated when I played, too, so it looked like Willow might have a future marching band member…
but I wasn’t thinking about those things at the moment.
“We can talk about it later,” I gasped. “Everett, please do that more.” He had moved one hand between my legs and was touching me there, too. I was ready, very ready—I tilted my hips, seeking him.
“Not yet,” my husband said. He crawled over me and then lifted my thigh, and he touched me in the same place with his tongue.
It was like magic and it wasn’t long before I shook with an orgasm. “Hurry, hurry,” I panted, and he did. He moved behind me again and entered me, sliding in deeply. The feel of him…
“It’s magic! I think sex with you is magic,” I said, and he was laughing as he thrust but also moaning.
He was very vocal and so was I—he came and so did I, again, and then he held me tightly as we returned to consciousness.
It was always like this between us, no matter if we were in a different city for his games or a different country as we traveled.
I liked our bed in our home the best, but I would have been happy with him even back in my burned-out apartment.
“Was I too rough?” he asked me. He slid his hand from one of my breasts to cup my stomach. It was too big for him to palm now, even with his long fingers. “You guys ok?”
“That wasn’t rough. It was wonderful,” I said. “Was I too loud?”
We both listened, but there was no sound from our son’s room. Everett reached and turned the screen of the baby monitor and we both smiled when we saw him curled up in his little bed.
“You’re going to be the dad of two. Did you think things would turn out like this?” I asked him.
“Nope,” he answered immediately. “My life has gone in a totally different direction. I thought that the best thing in the world, the most important, was getting to be the starting quarterback of the Woodsmen.” He looked again at our little boy and then stroked my pregnant belly. “That doesn’t even come close to this.”
“It was a trick play,” I said. “We all thought you were going to hand off the ball to someone else, but then you ended up throwing a touchdown.”
“I won,” Everett said. “I have you and our kids. I’m winning every day.”
I turned to kiss him. We were the best team ever, and I loved our quarterback.