Chapter 48
Johnson
As we’re driving out of the marina, I can feel my body release weeks—no, months—of stress.
Landon’s forgiven me, and I get to be with Grace. Really with her. In front of our families, our friends.
No more hiding, no more secrets, no more lies.
Now this incredible woman and I can see exactly where our path will go.
I’m fucking excited by that. Because I see a whole lot of future on the horizon.
“I’m so glad I mentioned Thanksgiving,” Grace says, breaking my thoughts. “I really didn’t want to do it without you. Without all of you.”
“Me too. You’re okay, otherwise?” I glide my hand over the length of her hair. “I’m sorry—I’m sorry that the first time I said I loved you was in front of your brother. But I do, Goldie, I love you.”
She beams at me. “I love you too. And it’s okay, it doesn’t matter to me when you said it. Maybe it helped with Landon too.”
“Probably.” I blow out a breath, leaning deeper into the seat. “What a relief. Now we can be out in the open and not worry about it.”
“You should tell Carter. Wasn’t he super stressed about it when you saw him last?”
“Yeah.” I chuckle. “I think I have a few other people to tell even sooner than Carter. Mom, Coach….”
Suddenly, a happy thought hits me. “So wait, I think this means you could wear my jersey to a game, right?”
“Maybe…” she says in a teasing tone.
Oh shit, I hope she does, but I don’t want to press in the moment.
When we’re about five minutes away from home, my phone rings. It’s the team physician’s number.
“Hey, Doc,” I say as I pick up.
“How are you, Johnson? I’m happy to say that I’m calling with good news.”
“Oh yeah?” Please let this be what I think it is.
“The tests we ran yesterday, everything looks good. You’re cleared to start playing.”
“Fuck, yes.” Grace looks over and I whisper to her, “I’m fully cleared.”
She grins widely. “That’s amazing, honey.”
I turn back to the phone. “Sorry for the cursing, Doc. I’m pumped.”
“No worries, nothing I haven’t heard before.” The humor is plain in his voice. “I’ll pass it along to the coaching team too.”
I know I might have to wait a week to play during a game, so they can ease me back in. But I’m pumped to get back onto the practice field tomorrow.
Doc hangs up after giving me more instructions for when I’m at the facility tomorrow.
“We’re almost home,” Grace says. “I can’t wait for you to update your mom on all of this.”
Once we’re at the house, my mom is predictably overjoyed at all our news.
“I’m so glad you and Landon made up, in particular,” she says, her hands clasped together. “That was hard, for everyone.” She glances at Grace briefly.
“November’s about gratitude, right?” I say. “Lots to be grateful for this month.”
Mom had been making lunch for Lainie and the kids, so we add two settings to the table and join them.
The kids are in great form, Emma telling stories of their new preschool and Leo babbling like crazy in response.
It took a while to convince my sister to let them attend preschool three days a week, but the extra time is giving Lainie space to get her life organized.
The kids both seem to be thriving there.
With Mark and her on the same page about her keeping full custody, Lainie’s begun looking for a new job, even though I told her she could wait as long as she wanted.
“I like to work, Johnny. I need that adult time,” she explained.
The important thing is that she’s looking here, and we can stay together as a family.
Eventually, Emma’s storytelling dies off and we dig into the food, until Lainie breaks the silence again.
“Grace, I had an idea.” Her voice has a conspiratorial tone.
“Oooh, yes?”
“Let’s start a book club! A romance book club like I had in Alabama. It’ll be a great way to meet more people around here.”
“I love it. What genres would we pick from? There’s so many. Small town, romantasy, workplace…”
As they figure out their plan of attack, I sit back and take it all in.
My family. Together and whole.
About thirty minutes later, Grace and I clear the dishes, and Mom gathers the kids for some time outside.
Once everything is loaded in the dishwasher, Grace comes up behind me, draping her arms over my shoulders.
“I’m so happy,” she whispers in my ear. “About everything.”
I clasp her wrists where they lay on top of my shoulders.
“Me too, Goldie, the happiest I can ever remember.”
“I do have one more thing that may make the day even better,” she says suggestively.
“Oh yeah?” Whatever it is, I’m sure interested now.
“Join me in the master in five minutes.”
Before I can respond, she slides off to our room.
It’s torture waiting five minutes to see what she has up her sleeve. The clock moves stupidly slow as I try to give her the time she asked for.
Finally, five minutes pass, and I stride to the master. “Coming in now.”
“I’m ready,” I hear through the door.
I step in and…
There’s my Goldie, leaning against the nearest wood post of my bed, blonde hair down, swimming over the front of my jersey with a #2 on the front…
“What’s this?” I say, my brain shutting down.
“I’ve been keeping a different kind of secret. I bought this to wear at a game as soon I could, and when you mentioned that idea today, I thought we could mark this amazing day in style…” She twirls around slowly. “You like it?”
Once her back is facing me and I can see my name there, I let out a growl. “Stay right there.” I try to soak in the sight before me.
“Okay, honey,” she says in a flirty voice. “But if I can add one thing”—she takes her right index finger and slowly pulls the jersey up a little over her right cheek, so I can see part of her bare ass—“the jersey is the only thing I have on right now.”
“Fuck me.”
And I’m moving. In three steps, I reach her and turn her so she’s facing forward. Using the bedpost as leverage, I pull her up off the ground and pin her with my hips against it.
My mouth slams onto hers and she’s ready for me, reciprocating quickly with her tongue. Our lips clash, claiming each other avidly, and just when I think I have control of the kiss, she does the thing I love, nipping on my bottom lip.
Needless to say, I’m already hard.
She wraps her legs around me, and with my hips holding her up against the bedpost, I realize my hands are free to focus elsewhere. They glide up her hips, pulling the jersey, so it’s bunched around her waist.
I break the kiss, making her whimper. But I want to look down to confirm—yep, no panties.
“You did this for me, Goldie?” I pull my right hand across the top of her pussy, and let my thumb start rubbing, teasing. “Did you get wet thinking about it? Me finding you like this?”
“Ahhhh,” she gasps out. “Yesss.”
“And what did that brilliant brain of yours expect? Was your plan to have me fuck you with my name on your back?”
She wriggles from the combination of my words, and the relentless slides of my thumb on her. “Johnson, this feels so…oh my god.”
“Yeah, Goldie, I know. You wanted a reaction, and you’re getting one.” I press my thumb directly on her clit, and she lets out a loud moan. “Seeing you in this, I can’t wait to fuck you.”
“Please, Johnson, I want…”
I don’t stop moving on her with my thumb, whatever she may want. “Give me one first, and then I’ll fill you up.”
As I continue to say filthy things, she soon explodes, her body shaking against me. I pull my hips tighter against the bedpost for stability, making sure she doesn’t fall. Her face is full of pleasure as she goes through one aftershock after another.
“So beautiful, so beautiful,” I whisper in her ear.
I keep my head flush against the side of hers, my mouth enveloped in her blonde locks. As she starts to even out the pace of her breathing, I bring my mouth to her ear and suck.
“Oh, I love when you do that,” she murmurs.
“So delicate, and yet so strong,” I reply.
“Hmmmm,” she says.
Momentarily, she reaches down to rub the bulge of my dick against my shorts.
“Goldie….”
“Come inside me, now. Take these off.”
Yes, ma’am.
“Hold onto me,” I instruct. “We’re moving.”
Her legs wrap around me tightly again, and I walk her to the side of the bed, gently guiding her down so she’s lying on it with her legs dangling off.
Then I can’t resist. I turn her on her stomach so I can see the Samuels on her back. “I can’t wait to fuck you while you’re wearing my name.”
When I step away to whip off my shirt and drop my shorts, I come back to a complete fucking vision.
Her face is turned to the side, so I can see her beautiful profile, and her blonde hair fans out on the bed, our bed—the one I bought for a lifetime. The jersey, my jersey, pulled up just enough that I can see her ass and gorgeous pussy.
“Come,” she says, spreading her legs a couple of inches wider as she sees me taking her in. Holy hell, this girl.
“I’m not going to last long. Not with you looking like that.”
I step forward, elevate her hips slightly with my hands, and position myself against her, entering her as soon as I’m lined up.
A few inches into her, and I know I’m right about not lasting. She squeezes her softness tight around me as I push deeper, rocking our bodies again.
“There’s nothing like this, Johnson,” she gasps out.
I move faster, deeper, and soon we’re both without words.
Except when she reaches underneath her body to start touching herself as I pump into her from behind, I lose control. Unable to slow down, I find a few words spill out of me.
“Goldie.” Thrust.
“Make.” Thrust.
“Yourself.” Thrust.
“Come.” Thrust.
And we both go over the edge moments later, my name still visible as she takes all of me.
“I feel you. I feel it. Fill me.”
I jerk inside her, the image of her taking all my come making me wild.
“Grace…”
And the pleasure is so intense that I just let my body release everything into her, like it was meant to.
After I start coming down, I pull myself out of her and lie on the bed beside her, my legs also dangling off.
“Shit, that was incredible.”
“I can’t imagine a better way to celebrate this day, that’s for sure,” she observes, an amused happiness in her voice.
“Me neither.”
I turn over and smile at her, running my hand down her arm.
“Especially with the knowledge that we have so many more ahead, Grace.”
My heart squeezes from the smile that breaks over her face once she digests what I said.
“Love you,” she says.
“Love you back.”
“Does this mean I should wear your jersey again?” She barely contains her giggle.
“I dare you to, Goldie.”