Chapter 43
Chapter Forty-Three
~MAC~
Ileft the stadium without even letting Danny know I was gone.
I figured he would figure it out and I was right.
I can feel him before I see him. It’s the way his intense eyes watch me from his spot along the fence.
The creaking of the fence may have given it away that someone is in my backyard, but that could have easily been Cassie or Amelia.
Both girls were really worried about me when I said I wasn’t going out with the team.
Cassie reminded me that hiding wasn’t the answer.
I decided it’s safer and better for me if I just hang out at the house.
Danny is here now, so it’s not like I’m alone.
Thump. The leather ball slaps the wooden rebounder again, and I go to set it up again.
I couldn’t send it again because the ball rolled up my leg and landed funny on the bounce.
Not what I was hoping to have happen. The game wasn’t what I was hoping to have happen either, but here we are, with another loss.
Honestly, I don’t think anyone figured we would win that game, but those are the games I think we have the opportunity to shine.
Show them what the Blaze is made of. But that’s not what happened tonight.
“What are you doing, baby?” he finally asks.
I turn and see he’s no longer leaning on the fence but is making his way over to me.
I take a moment to look him over. He’s wearing casual gray shorts and a navy-blue Blaze T-shirt.
Sandals are on his feet. He looks so casual and sexy.
I want to walk over to him and capture his lips in mine.
But that’s not what’s going to happen. He’s staring at me so intently right now.
I know he’s trying to figure things out on his own so that he can better talk to me.
“I’m just getting some touches in,” I tell him.
We both know that’s a lie. He calls me on it.
“I can see that. But why? You had a good game tonight.”
“I didn’t shoot,” I tell him, reminding him of what he asked me when he saw me at the end of my match.
He nods, slowly bending down so that we’re eye level. “What’s going on with you? Why would you not shoot the ball? I even heard Watts yell at you to shoot. Fuck, Jase asked you to shoot too.” He reminds me of the shouts that I had heard from the sidelines.
None of my fellow players seemed to be worried about the fact that I wasn’t shooting. In fact, they seemed to be pretty happy that the ball was being passed around—or that I was getting yelled at. It makes the tears form in my eyes again, and I hit my knees, a loud sob breaking through.
“Baby.” He comes rushing over to me and gathers me up in his arms.
I want to collapse the whole way, but he’s not letting me. Instead, he holds on to me as he guides himself onto the grass and pulls me into this lap. He rocks me back and forth while I wail and cry.
“You’re okay. You’re okay. I promise you. Everything is going to be okay,” he keeps repeating to me.
“I don’t know about that,” I sniffle out when I can finally speak.
“You’re going to have to give me more,” he says quietly, stroking my hair and rubbing my back.
I sigh and pull back so that our eyes are connected.
“My teammates think I’m a ball hog. They think I don’t pass enough and that I get all of the attention.
So, I was trying to let someone else get a shot in tonight.
I was passing more. I was trying anything to not make it seem like it’s the Mac show. ”
“Who thinks this?” he asks. “It can’t be your friends, right? None of them are this cruel.”
He’s right, none of them think this or are that cruel. I shake my head. “No, it’s none of them. It’s the other members of the team. Some who play and some who don’t. They think I take too much of the attention away. Pull the focus or something.”
“Is that why you didn’t want to go out tonight? You didn’t want to draw too much attention to yourself?”
I nod. “Yeah, I thought it might be best if we weren’t always being watched by the people around us. Or by someone who might take a video and write another article or something. I just don’t know how to win this.”
He holds me and rocks me back and forth. “It’s going to be okay. I promise you that. What do your coaches think about all of this?”
“Andie just said to ignore them and play my game.”
“She’s absolutely fucking right, Mac. You can’t let these bitches get in your head. They’re either jealous of you, or they’re just pissed that the team is getting negative attention. Trust me, I’ve dealt with this before. The media will get bored with it. They’ll move on. It’ll all blow over.”
He leans in and gives me a kiss.
I just sigh. Being in his arms feels so good. This is what I was missing these last few days.
“When did all this happen?”
“Team dinner.” I pull out of his arms and sit cross-legged across from him so that I can see his face in the dimly lit backyard as I recount everything Marci said to me. It makes me want to sob all over again, but I do my best to keep it in so that I can get through it.
“What a fucking bitch. That woman is supposed to be your teammate. She shouldn’t be tearing you down like that.”
“I know, but she has a point. I am the captain, and then I’m in the article so much more than the rest of them.
I fucked you and got into the paper for that now too.
Everything is just a mess.” I can feel myself about to let out another round of sobs, and this time, I don’t hold back.
It all just comes out and I can’t stop it.
I’m not sure how long we sit there, but I cry for what feels like hours.
Danny just holds me, rubs my back, and says sweet things in my ear.
When I’m finally all cried out, I look up at him and say, “I’m sorry.
I’m sorry for the circus. I saw that it was a bit of a mess today when you were at the stadium, and then August wouldn’t let you sit with him. I’m sorry. I’m just so sorry.”
“Hold on a second. You have nothing to apologize for. This was you and me. We did this together. We share the same amount of blame for it, so stop blaming yourself. I didn’t mind sitting down there.
Actually, it was so nice to get a good view of you from the field.
I could actually see your facial expressions and the joy on your face while you were playing.
I loved every minute of watching you play.
So, you don’t owe me any more apologies. Do you hear me? No more.”
His brown eyes look so full of love and concern that all I want to do is pull him into me, but I don’t want to break the moment and make this about sex. Even though I fully plan on doing that later with him.
“How did I get so lucky?” I reach up and place a chaste kiss on his forehead.
“What do you mean?” he asks, confused.
“How did I get so lucky that I managed to piss off the hottest and most considerate reporter who was in the room that night? I mean, it could have been any of them talking to me like that, but it was you. And honestly, you might have been one of the best things that has happened to me in a long time.”
He’s looking at me in awe. He swallows big, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down, then he finally speaks. “I love you too, Mackenzie Dixon. I’m not sure how I got so lucky to be here with you like this, but I do love you. So very, very much.”
I beam at him. “I love you so much too, Danny. I guess that’s what I was trying to say earlier, and I was doing such a poor job of it.”
He pulls me into him and kisses me passionately. When we break apart, we’re both panting.
“That’s the kind of kiss I was hoping to give you when I saw you up on that railing, but I knew it wouldn’t have been fair to you.” He leans in and kisses my nose.
I laugh. “Why do you say that?”
“Because it would have made it an even bigger story if something like that had happened.”
“This is true.”
His phone rings in his pocket. “Sorry,” he says, pulling it out. “Hey, Nick, what’s going on?” Danny pauses to listen, then speaks again. “Yeah, I found her and I’m with her now.”
“Okay, good. Later,” he says before hanging up. “He was worried. Wanted to make sure I found you okay.”
“That was sweet of him,” I say, leaning into him. “I’m sorry that I left. I just had to get out of there.”
“I get it, but next time, please tell me. I’m happy to get you as far away from there as I possibly can. Got it?”
I nod. “Got it. Do you wanna come inside? I have some ice cream, and I think I’ve earned it.”
Danny stands and holds out his hand to me. “Let’s do it.”
Inside, I dish out two bowls of strawberry ice cream. “Let’s eat this in my bed,” I tell him.
I don’t miss the naughty look in his eyes when we’re taking the short walk down the hallway to my bedroom.
I lie back on the bed and take a bite of ice cream.
Danny sits beside me, taking a bite of ice cream into his mouth.
He doesn’t swallow, though. Instead, he leans forward and pulls my shirt up, looking up at me for permission.
I nod slowly, then I watch as he pulls my bra down and encloses his mouth around my nipple.
The cold of the ice cream and the warmth of his mouth and my skin is turning me on.
I moan as he keeps on swirling his tongue around my nipple.
Leaning back, he swallows any excess ice cream in his mouth. After taking another bite, he goes for the other nipple and repeats the same action. I’m turning into putty in his hands. I place the ice cream bowl on my bedside table and pull him closer to me.
“I thought we were eating ice cream?” I tell him in a throaty voice.
“We are. I’m just eating it with a side of you, baby.”
Sitting up, he takes off my shirt and discards it before reaching around me, and my bra joins my shirt on the floor.
“You better take off your shirt too. I want that view too,” I tease him.
He chucks his shirt. “There. It’s fair now.”
“Thank you.”
“And now that your shirt is off, I can do more things with this ice cream.”
He gives me a wolfish grin before taking the spoon and running it down my abs, dropping a little bit of ice cream along the way. He licks it up, getting so close to the line of my leggings that it’s driving me cray.
“Please, Danny.”
Danny chuckles. “You’re going to have to be more specific on what you want.”
“Touch me,” I beg.
“As you wish.” He grabs a hold of the waistband of my leggings and removes them in one swift motion. “I’ll never get sick of seeing you have no underwear on when I take off your clothes.”
I lift up for him so they can join the rest of my clothes on the floor.
He removes his own shorts before taking in another mouthful of ice cream.
My pussy gets the same treatment as my nipples did.
But then he inserts a finger inside me and pumps slowly, and I let go, feeling him lap up my release with his tongue.
“That will never get old.” He smirks at me before he places a kiss on my lips.
“I’ll never look at ice cream the same way again,” I tease him.
“I should hope not. Now come here.” Jerking me forward, Danny brings his body flush with mine. “I want you to ride me. Do you think you can do that?”
I nod vigorously. “I think I can.” I nip at his nipple as he slowly puts on a condom. I watch as it’s rolled down his impressive length. “You know, I could give you head with ice cream if you want me to.”
“I want you to, trust me. But not as badly as I want you to ride me. So, let’s giddy up, cowgirl.” He smacks my ass.
Slowly, I lower myself up and down on his cock, setting a torturously slow pace. I take his lips with mine and suck on the bottom one.
“Mac,” he moans out, but I swallow it as I capture his lips in a kiss, letting our tongues dance together for a brief moment before I pick up the pace. He removes his mouth from mine to tongue one of my nipples while he plays with the other one.
The feel of his cock rubbing at my clit as I slide up and down, along with what he’s doing to my nipples, is causing me to get there so much faster than I would like to.
I try to slow the pace, but he won’t let me.
He takes hold of my hips and pushes me up and down faster and faster.
I can feel the pressure building. I’m so close and I know that he is too.
We come together and then fall onto the bed in a tangle of arms and legs.
“You are so incredible.” He leans over and places a kiss on my lips before discarding the condom.
“You aren’t so bad yourself,” I tease him.
“Oh, I know.” That earns me a pinch on the ass. “Just promise me one thing.”
“What’s that?” I ask him.
“Don’t run from me. Just come to me and we’ll work through everything together. I’ve got you and you’ve got me.”
I nod. “I love you.”
“I love you more.” Gathering me in his arms, he prepares me for round after round.