Chapter 34
CHAPTER
THIRTY-FOUR
Liam
The second the plane lands, I hop in the new car that I had delivered to the airport so it would be here when I landed. I don’t stop for food or even go check my apartment. I go straight to the complex to see my girls.
Four weeks of FaceTime, controlled breathing, and trusting that what we’re building won’t crack under distance or pressure has nearly made me lose my mind. And I need to see them like I need air.
I walk into the facility, twirling my keys around my finger.
A few staff members nod and say hello.
“Welcome back, Mr. Pitz. You ready for Sunday?” someone calls out.
“Always,” I answer automatically with a smile.
But my focus is on one thing. Alie’s office.
Instead of waiting for the elevator, I take the stairs two at a time. My pulse is already racing by the time I reach her office. I can hear her from the hallway, and also a male’s voice.
And then I freeze. Waiting just outside her door.
Aaron.
“Now he’s trying to ruin my credibility. And you see what he did to my face! Do you really want your daughter around someone who can’t control his temper?”
“Aaron, that’s enough,” she hisses.
“Alie, I don’t know why you’re believing him. Have I ever given you a reason to think I’d lie to you?”
“Aaron, just stop,” she pleads.
He laughs. “He wasn’t here. I was.”
My fists clench, my blood boils.
For a split second, all I see is red thinking of—his smug face, the years he stole, the lies he let her believe.
“You lied to both of us,” she says. “You kept us from being a family.”
“I did what was best.”
“For who?” she demands, her voice rough with anger.
“For you! For her!” he snaps. “He left.”
“He went back to New Orleans because he had to. And I left him that morning, not the other way around. I should have stayed and asked him instead of making assumptions.”
“Still, he wasn't here.” He goads.
“He didn’t know I was pregnant!”
He huffs. “You think this ends well? Football always wins for him. And it always will.”
“That’s not true. And you don’t know him at all,” she says.
“You want stability for her?” he presses. “Or do you want headlines and uncertainty?”
That’s it. That’s the manipulation. The for her sake angle.
“Stop,” she says, firmly.
There’s a pause.
“I’ve trusted you for most of my life,” she continues. “How could you lie to me?”
“I’ve protected you.”
“No, you tried to control me,” she corrects.
Silence.
“And you can’t ever be in our lives after this,” she says, voice shaking.
“Alie—”
“No,” she says calmly. “Anything athlete-related from here on out can go through my dad. We’re done.”
“You’re making a mistake,” he claims.
“No,” she says quietly. “I already made the mistake of trusting you. I won’t do it again. I stand by Liam and his word.”
“Alie, this isn’t over,” he mutters.
“Yes, it absolutely is. You need to leave.” She demands.
I’ve had enough.
Knocking on the door frame dramatically, I stroll into her office, and I see Aaron standing by the window with his back to me, Alie behind her desk. And Sera’s sitting on the floor coloring.
The air shifts immediately.
Alie looks up first, and relief floods her face.
“Liam,” she gasps.
Sera spins around. “Daddy!”
She drops her crayons and runs straight to me.
I scoop her into my arms instantly, burying my face in her hair, breathing her in.
God, I missed this.
“I missed you so much,” I murmur.
She kisses my cheek dramatically. “You gone long.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I had to work.”
Only then do I look at Aaron. And whatever calm I had left from camp evaporates.
He folds his arms, cool and controlled, like he didn’t just try destroying my life.
“Back early,” he says with disgust.
“Looks like I’m right on time, actually.”
Alie moves closer to me.
“Aaron was just leaving.”
She wraps her arms around my waist, and I bend my head to kiss her. It’s not the kind of kiss I had pictured on my way here, but it’ll have to do for now.
“Mommy, Daddy kiss!” Sera claps her hands.
“Why are you even here?” I ask him.
He doesn’t move. Because of course he doesn’t.
“I represent one of the rookies,” he says smoothly. “I have business here today.”
“You don’t have business in her office, and we just got back. So no. You don’t.” I snap.
Aaron’s eyes flick to Alie. “She asked me to stop by.”
Alie gasps. “I did not!”
I set Sera down gently. “Can you color a picture for me?”
She looks at Alie.
“Go ahead. Color, baby,” she says softly.
Sera can probably sense the tension, but she sits back down on the floor with her crayons and paper.
I step closer to Aaron.
“You need to stop,” I say, voice low and dangerous.
“Or what?” he asks quietly.
“Or I’ll forget we’re in a professional building.”
Alie steps between us, her hand on my chest. “Okay, let’s just stop this here.”
I look at her.
“He’s the problem, Alie. Not me. ”
She looks up at me, curiously, and maybe a little proud.
“Did you really do that to his face?” She tugs on my shirt.
“Ball was slippery, baby. Let’s call it an equipment malfunction.”
“Uh, huh. Right.” She smirks.
I wink at Aaron and give him a big ol’ fuck you smile.
He steps toward the door like a petulant child, muttering something under his breath.
I look at my daughter and see her looking from Aaron to Alie.
Stepping forward, I point at the door. “You heard her. Out.”
He huffs like the little pussy he is, slams the door behind him, and immediately the room feels lighter. Like someone finally opened a window after years of stale air.
“Unc mad?” Sera asks.
Alie crouches beside her. “It’s okay, baby. I promise.” She smooths Sera’s hair back from her face, pressing a kiss to her temple.
I reach for Alie’s hand and pull her to me.
“Are you okay?”
She nods slowly.
“God, I’m so sorry,” she whispers.
“Alie, stop apologizing. He manipulated you.” I tug her in closer, needing to feel her in my arms.
She exhales shakily.
“Hey,” I lift her chin with my finger.
Her eyes are glassy.
“I love you,” I tell her quietly. “I love her.”
She nods, tears in her eyes. “Are you going to be able to forgive me?”
I don’t hesitate. “Yes, I already have.”
Her breath catches.
“But we need to move forward,” I add. “No more letting people interfere or define us.”
She nods again. “We move forward.”
“And I think we should start with you two coming to my place tonight.”
Alie looks at Sera, then me. “I think we can do that.”
“Good. Now kiss me.”
I slide my hands into her hair and drop my mouth to hers. Giving her the kind of kiss I had planned on before Aaron ruined the reunion.
We lose ourselves in each other until I feel a tug on my T-shirt.
“Daddy, go home?”
I lift her in my arms, but keep the other around Alie.
“Yeah, sweetheart. We can go home.”
We make a stop at Alie’s place first so she can get some things for herself and Sera to spend the night.
Once we get to my place, Sera insists on exploring every room like she’s inspecting a castle. A small castle.
“Big couch,” she announces.
Alie laughs. “I’d say she’s excited for her first sleepover here.”
“It won’t be her last,” I reply.
I ordered pizza on the way here so we didn’t have to think about cooking. It’s not exactly on my meal plan, but I think we’re all too tired to think about it.
We eat. Sera spills juice. We clean it together. It all feels so normal.
After her bath, we’re lying in the guest room, reading her nighttime story, and I’m mentally calculating how to get this room ready for her. To make it hers.
She falls asleep, clutching her Stallion and football.
Alie and I stand in the doorway, my arm around her waist, watching her sleep for a minute.
“She’s perfect,” I whisper.
“She is,” Alie agrees.
“You ready for bed too?”
She nods and looks up at me. “I bet you’re pretty tired. It’s been a long day for you with traveling, and now this, having us here.”
“I am tired, but I need you.”
She lifts up on her toes and kisses me. “Then let’s go.”
I pick her up, my hands gripping her ass, and her legs wrap around me. We kiss as we walk toward my room.
“I don’t want to lose this again,” she says against my lips.
“We won’t.”
She kisses me first this time. It starts soft, like she’s relieved. Like we’re reconnecting instead of feeling desperate. Our hands exploring each other slowly, reverently.
Every breath. Every kiss. Every touch is grateful. Intentional.
When I carry her over to the bed, I set her down and slowly peel off her clothes. It’s not chaos or urgency. It’s a closeness I’ve never felt with anyone but her.
I want to take this slow. I want to make love to her.
Her fingers tangle in my hair as my mouth moves along her skin between her neck and shoulder.
She says my name like it’s a prayer.
When she reaches for my clothes, I stand and undress. Her eyes watching my every move.
Once I’m naked, I crawl between her legs, settling my body over hers. She slides her hands up my abs and chest, making her way to my neck, guiding my mouth to hers.
“Liam, kiss me.”
I tease the seam of her lips with my tongue. Slow, deliberate. I glide my tongue along hers, and we savor each other.
“I need you,” she moans.
“You have me, baby.” I pull her bottom lip into my mouth and suck.
I push up so I’m leaning over her, my arm bracing my body.
Her hand snakes between us and wraps around my dick, sliding up and down, squeezing my tip, making precum coat the head.
I lean down and lick the tip of her nipple before wrapping my lips around it. When I bite down on it, she runs her hands into my hair, holding my head in place.
“That feels so good,” she moans.
I move to the other, then release it with a pop. “Fuck, you’re perfect.”
I sit up, leaning back on my heels, and look down at her swollen pink pussy. She’s spread wide for me, and I could easily lose control. But I want to take my time.
I move my hands up her thighs and reach under to grab her ass. Then I bring her hips down to meet my cock and slide it through her slit, soaking my shaft with her arousal.
My cock reaches her opening, and our eyes meet when I slowly push into her. I let out a breath, then swallow her moan with my mouth.
I push into her to the hilt. Our eyes still connected.
“You’re mine, Alie.”
“I’m yours. Always,” she whispers.
I release her legs and pull out just long enough to straighten my body over hers, bracing my arms on either side of her head. I push in again, slowly, our eyes locked.
“More,” she whispers.
I push into her harder, circling my hips, and she gasps.
“You like that?” I lean down and lick her bottom lip.
“So good.” Her hips meet my rhythm, and we kiss, tongues tangling, tension building.
My orgasm is getting closer as our hips thrust together. And I can feel her starting to pulse around my dick. So, I pull back from our kiss to catch my breath and bury my head in her neck, licking and sucking.
“Are you getting close?” I ask against her skin.
“Yes,” she breathes, her hands finding my hair, tugging. “Don’t stop.”
Her pussy starts milking my cock, and my control snaps, and I drive into her harder, trying to make her come before I lose it.
My mouth hovers over hers, our breaths joining, lips brushing. “Come, baby. I can’t hold it much longer. You feel too good. Choke my cock with your pretty pink pussy.”
“Oh God! Come with me, Liam,” she says, breathless. Her hands grab my ass, pulling me into her deeper as she starts to come.
Her head tilts back, and she moans as she spasms around my dick, and I … come harder than I ever have in my life.
The connection we have, the way our bodies know each other on a deeper level than just physical satisfaction, is everything. There’s no doubt in my mind that this girl was meant to be mine.
I pull out of her and roll to my side, stretching my arm under her head.
She tucks into my arm and rests against my chest as we catch our breath.
“I’ve been thinking. I don’t want Sera growing up in just apartments,” I say quietly.
She looks up.
“We can keep your place in Manhattan. Especially with your parents there,” I continue. “But I want a house not far from the complex.”
“With a big yard,” she murmurs.
“Yeah, with a big yard,” I agree. “Somewhere she can ride a bike. Have some normalcy in this big life we live.”
Alie smiles. “This all sounds pretty permanent.”
“Because it is. I”—I pause—“am permanent.”
She studies my face.
“Okay then. I guess we start house hunting?”
“Really?” I ask, excited. “You want to do this with me?”
“I do. After being apart these last four weeks, I realized that I want to spend our days and nights together. Be messy together. Watch movies. Sleep in late. All of it.”
“I’m all in, baby.” I kiss her forehead.
She leans into me, and for the first time since all of this started, everything feels … steady.
Messy. Loud. Complicated.
Perfect.
And I wouldn’t trade this life for anything.