Chapter 38
Landon
“Why don’t you have a seat, Landon?”
I blow out a stream of air through my lips. “Sorry, Mrs. Lepski. I’m too anxious to sit.”
I won’t be able to relax until Ainsley steps out of that office and tells me she got her job back. Principal Harrison called her this weekend and told her to come in for a meeting at the end of the school day on Monday. I’m really hoping he has good news for her.
Mrs. Lepski gives me a knowing smile. “I remember when you were just a boy. I can’t believe how grown you are now. It makes me feel so old.”
“Ah, you don’t look a day over thirty.”
Mrs. Lepski was probably in her thirties when I was a student here at Breakwater. She was the nicest secretary we had, and helped us sneak out of the building for lunch as long as we were back on time for the next class.
She touches her hands to her cheeks. “Stop it, you’re making me blush.”
Principal Harrison’s door swings open, and my stomach free falls to the tile floor.
Ainsley emerges first, wearing a wide smile. “I’m back, baby!”
Relief floods my senses as I rush toward her and lift her into my arms, spinning her around the room. “I’m so thrilled to hear that.”
Principal Harrison grins as he steps out of his office. “You two are doing such a good job with those girls, it would be a disservice to not have you coaching them.”
I stick out my hand and clasp his for a shake. “Thank you, sir. Ainsley is an incredible asset to this school.”
“I know it.” He offers her an appreciative smile. “I’m sorry your season didn’t end the way we all hoped, but it was nice to see the teams coming together for something bigger than them.”
“There’s always next year,” Ainsley says. She loops her arm through the crook of my elbow. “Ready to go?”
I tap my knuckles on the secretary’s desk. “It was good to see you, Mrs. Lepski.”
“Oh, you can come visit any time.” She beams up at Ainsley. “Your boyfriend is a sweetheart, Ms. Morgan.”
Ainsley rolls her eyes as she grins. “Yes, he’s a charmer.”
In the hallway, she jabs me in the side. “Still flirting with the secretary, huh?”
I scoff. “I never flirted with her. I was just nice to her because she let us sneak out of school.”
She purses her lips. “She never let me sneak out.”
“Maybe you weren’t nice to her.”
She chuckles as we step outside of the building together, her shoulders visibly dropping. “I am so relieved this is over.”
“Me too.” I lace our fingers together as I lead her around the side of the building. “Did he say anything about Jayden’s mother?”
“All he said was that she won’t be a problem for me anymore.” She glances up at me, worry etched into her face. “I don’t know what that means for Jayden though.”
We approach her Jeep in the parking lot, but I tug her arm past it. “Why don’t you ask Jayden yourself?”
Ainsley’s eyes narrow as she spots both teams waiting for her past the gates on the field. “What are they all doing here?”
“I wanted them to be the first to congratulate you on being reinstated.”
“And what if I got fired?”
I hike a shoulder. “Then they would’ve been here to help you raise hell.”
As if on cue, our teams run toward us, shouting like wild animals.
“Did you get your job back?”
“Are you still our coach?”
“Did you get fired?”
Ainsley laughs, and her wide smile takes my breath away. She looks genuinely happy for the first time in a long time. She’s been through so much, lost so much. I’m glad I get to be here to witness something good happening for her.
Jayden steps forward, wringing his hands in front of him. “Is everything okay, Coach Ainsley?”
“Everything is fine.” Ainsley opens her arms and wraps them around Jayden. “I’m so glad to see you again.”
Jayden grips onto Ainsley, tears streaming down his cheeks. “I’m sorry about everything. I’m sorry you got in trouble because of me.”
“Hey.” Ainsley pulls back and holds Jayden at arm’s distance to look into his eyes. “None of this was your fault, do you understand me? You did the right thing and confided in a trusted adult. You did nothing wrong. All I care about is that you’re okay.”
Jayden sniffles as he nods. “My mom is still really angry, but my dad convinced her to go to therapy with me so we can talk.”
My shoulders drop, relief flooding my muscles. “That’s really good, Jayden. Going to therapy is a great first step for all of you.”
It’s something I wish my parents would have done a long time ago, though I’m not sure my father could’ve been helped.
“What you did was really brave,” Ainsley says. “And you have your team supporting you all the way.”
The JV girls wrap their arms around Jayden.
“I think I’d like to organize some kind of pride event in our community,” Jayden says, wiping at his eyes. “I want to promote something positive after all this.”
“That’s a great idea.” Ainsley gives his shoulder a squeeze. “Maybe start an afterschool club for kids to have a safe space to talk about things like this too.”
Jayden’s eyes widen. “That’s a great idea.”
Ainsley turns to her seniors. “I’m sorry about the playoffs. I really think we had a chance at winning again this year. That’s not how I wanted you to go out.”
“Pfft.” Natalie waves a dismissive hand. “It was totally badass getting to forfeit the game like that.”
Ainsley rolls her eyes as she laughs. “Of course, you would think that.” Then her eyes light up. “Why don’t we have a scrimmage? One last game, for old time’s sake. It doesn’t have to be JV versus varsity; you can pick your teams.”
The girls jump and squeal, immediately scrambling to divide themselves into two teams.
I arch a brow at my girlfriend. “You coach one, and I’ll coach the other?”
“Nah.” She tugs my hand and leads me to the bench. “Let them have fun.”
I bite the inside of my cheek to stop myself from grinning. “Look at you, turning over a new leaf.”
She nudges me with her shoulder. “I think I’m done competing against you.”
My eyebrows hit my hairline. “Really?”
She nods. “I kinda like being on the same team now.”
I lean down and press my lips to hers. “It definitely has its perks.”
We head up to the top of the bleachers, and sit with our backs against the railing. I gaze out at the field, the place that holds some of my best and worst memories.
But I don’t feel sick about it anymore.
My mother is safe.
Ainsley is happy.
And I get to stay in the place that feels like home.
Coming back to Breakwater helped me close the door on the life I once had, and start building something new.
“Can I open my eyes yet?”
“Not yet,” Ainsley calls from the bathroom. “Have a little patience, would you?”
“You told me to sit on the bed because you have a surprise for me. I have zero chill when it comes to you in the bedroom.”
My heart races with anticipation, my skin warming as I wait.
The sound of the door creaking open has me sitting up at attention. My hands twitch, dying to drop so I can see her.
“Okay,” she says, her voice smooth and sultry. “Open your eyes.”
My jaw goes slack.
My gaze trails up her long bare legs until they’re cut off by a teal-and-navy Ospreys jersey.
But it’s not her old team jersey.
I stare at the number twelve on the front until she turns around and pulls her long hair over one shoulder, making sure I have the perfect view of the last name stitched across the back.
FLETCHER
My old jersey.
I’d always seen Ainsley in her own jersey. She wasn’t mine to claim, didn’t watch my games with my name on her back for everyone to see. And I’d never asked. Not until I won our bet from our first date.
Seeing her like this now, knowing she’s completely bare underneath the jersey displaying my last name...
It was worth the wait.
My dick hardens as I rise from the bed and stalk over to her. “You look good wearing my name.”
She bites her bottom lip as I come up behind her and slide my hands underneath the hem of the jersey, roaming over her smooth skin. My palms slide over her nipples, and they harden as she shivers.
“It belongs to you now.” My eyes flick to the mirror across the room as I sink my teeth into her neck. “You look like mine.”
Her eyes meet mine in the reflection. “Feeling possessive, are we?”
“When it comes to you?” I slip my fingers between her thighs and coat my fingers in her wetness. “Always.”
Her head falls back against my shoulder as she moans, but she doesn’t take her eyes off mine through the mirror. “Make love to me, Landon.”
Love.
My heart slams into my chest, begging to be set free. “As much as I love the way you look in this jersey, it’s going to have to come off.”
She lifts her arms overhead, and I peel it off her in a slow, torturous pull, and then drop it to the floor. I scoop her up in my arms and carry her over to the bed. After I lay her down, I tear out of my clothes. My dick grows under the hungry look in her eyes, as she rubs her thighs together.
I pull out a condom from her nightstand and sheath myself before climbing on top of her. I tease her entrance, coating myself in her arousal while she spreads her legs wide.
“God, you’re beautiful, baby.” I caress her face and lean down to capture her lips.
I slide myself inside her, inch by inch, using every ounce of strength I have to keep from plunging into her, hard and fast.
Ainsley clings to me, those sexy legs wrapped around my waist like a vice. My hands trail along her soft skin until I reach her plump ass. I grip it tight, and pull myself out of her before thrusting back inside.
Ainsley holds the pieces of my broken past in her hands, and protects them; keeps them safe for me so I can experience the incredible future we’re going to have without fear of judgment or pain.
She sees the man I am now, and appreciates all I’ve been through to get here.
She cares for me. She sees me. Gazing into her hazel eyes, I can’t help but tell her exactly that.
“I love you, Ainsley. You know that, don’t you?”
She clutches my face and pulls me in for a kiss that’s passionate and filled with every emotion I’m feeling inside. “I love you, Landon. You took my heart with you when you left for college that day.”
Tears prick at the backs of my eyes, and I blink through my watery vision to see her. “I’ll never leave you again, baby. I promise. Not until something takes me from this earth, and even then, my soul will keep searching until I find you again.”
Tears streak down her face, and I kiss them away. “I love you, Ainsley. I love you.”
“I love you,” she whispers.
There aren’t many things certain in life. Not a job, not marriage, not health. It can all be gone in an instant.
But love lasts for eternity. It transcends time and space. It changes everything and turns it into something new.
It heals.
And it brings two rivals together.