| |
Alex needed a push. Cane knew her well enough to know that their relationship would not progress if he didn’t push it. He also knew her well enough to know timing was key. It was a delicate balance. If he pushed too hard, she would retreat but if he didn’t, they would continue in secret forever, though the secret part was laughable, most people suspected even though Alex vehemently denied it.
Things were good between them, really good, but only in private and only at her house or hotels. He couldn’t take her out in case they were recognized, so their relationship was confined to hotel trysts and while hotel sex was great, Cane was past booty calls. He wanted stable, normal, he would even settle for a bit of mundane. Most importantly, he wanted what his brothers had found, their person, the one who was always there for them.
Cane dialed Alex’s number.
“Hey, shouldn’t you be getting ready?” Alex answered without saying hello.
“I’m ready. We’re about to come out for the coin toss, are you here?”
“Of course. I am the human icicle on the fifty-yard line. New York in late October is cold. Are you wearing long sleeves under your jersey? You better be, Corn Fed. It’s cold.”
Cane smiled. That is how Alex said I love you, with worrying. He would prefer the actual words but he would take what he could get. “Hey, I forgot to ask you something,” he said, ignoring her question rather than lie and tell her he was wearing long sleeves. “I don’t have a game next week.”
“I know. You’re spending the weekend at my place. You just don’t know it yet. I already have the box set of Vampire Diaries ready to go. You are finally going to meet the Salvatore brothers.”
Cane groaned. Alex had been threatening him with Vampire Diaries for the better part of a month.
“Or we could spend it at mine and watch The Usual Suspects and eat chicken from a bucket. I’m voting for that.”
“Um, no to chicken in a bucket—”
“Fine. No bucket of chicken. Vampire Diaries at my house on Friday after practice.”
“My apartment is closer to the stadium.”
Alex had still never been to his house. She always had an excuse. She was still enjoying the home field advantage but it was time for an away game. This was the next step, time to push. “My house is where we’re raising our eight kids so you should probably see it so you can start picking out nursery colors. I am thinking burnt orange would be perfect for a boy or girl.”
“Eight? It was seven before. You added one last month after the Patriots game which took it to seven. You can’t just be arbitrarily adding kids. And progeny should not be used as punishment.”
“Ooh, look at you, using that thesaurus I bought you. So sexy. My house at seven or we’re having nine kids.”
“You’re ridiculous.”
“So you keep telling me. See you Friday.”
“Be careful, Cane. I mean it. I will have words with your left tackle if you get sacked at any point in the next three hours.” The edge in her voice made him smile. He had no doubt she would.
“What part of keeping it on the down low would that be?”
“I’m serious. Be. Careful.”
“I love you, too.”
“I didn’t say that.” Alex laughed.
“But you feel it.”
“I like to feel you.” She laughed again. “I think you’re getting it confused with that.”
***
Five days was too long to go without seeing Alex. They had spoken everyday but she had spent the week in Connecticut filming a segment for ESPN. Thankfully she was coming home today and she would be back to reporting from the sidelines. It was bad enough to deal with all the travelling without having her permanently based in another city. Cane’s heart picked up speed when the doorbell finally rang.
“You’re late, sweetheart.” Cane lifted Alex up and kissed her. Eventually she pulled back. “Don’t try to distract me with your hot body. We’re watching The Vampire Diaries.”
Cane nodded. “We are, while we cuddle on the couch.”
Alex scrunched up her nose. “No! You can’t change the goal posts. There was no mention of cuddling. You’re going to get a penalty here in a minute.”
“Sweetheart, the cuddling was implied and you didn’t veto it then. The time for negotiations has passed.”
“Not impressed with you, Corn Fed. Now let me down.”
“Being carried was also implied.” He tried to kiss her again but she turned her head.
“Not just a penalty, you’re getting fined.”
“I can afford it. Now kiss me.”
Alex sighed like she was trying to resist but eventually her fingers laced through his hair and she pulled his mouth to her. Her legs tangled behind his back as her bag dropped to the tiled floor. Cane kissed her as he carried her through to the kitchen and sat her on the marble countertop near the sink where he had been washing vegetables for the salad to go with dinner.
“You cooked?”
“Don’t look so surprised. I eat a lot so of course I cook. Tonight is steak from my brother’s ranch and twice baked potatoes.”
A tiny furrow formed between Alex’ eyes but it was gone as quickly as it appeared. “I wish I’d known you were cooking. I’ve already eaten.”
Cane gave her a hard look. She was lying. She knew she was coming for dinner but he didn’t want to fight about it. He hadn’t seen her all week so he would leave that discussion for later. “More for me I guess.”
Alex smiled as she slid off the counter. “So, no tour?”
Cane looked over at her. He had almost forgotten she had never been there before. She fit here, in his kitchen, in his house, in his life. “Sorry. Yeah, this is my kitchen.” He gestured to the large open plan room.
Alex nodded as she looked around. “It’s nice.”
“Here, let me show you around. You have seen the kitchen and the entry hall.”
“My apartment could fit in your entryway. Very understated, just like I would expect from you.” Alex smiled.
“That’s why we need to spend more time here. I barely fit in your apartment. How long is your lease?”
“Long enough,” she responded as if she knew where this conversation was headed. Moving in together was the logical step. That is the direction they were going. That way they would at least see each other most days, even if in passing. Alex followed him from room to room.
“No football propaganda,” Alex said as she sized up the walls.
“Nope. I get enough football at work.”
Alex scrunched her nose again. “I wish my dad had the same philosophy. Everything in his house is OU football. Even the salt shakers. The house is a sea of maroon. Don’t get me wrong, I love football, obviously, but I would like to have some shirts growing up that didn’t have the OU logo on it.”
“Is that why you picked UT, because they are OU’s rival?”
“I already told you they have a better journalism school.”
“There are lots of good journalism schools that aren’t OU’s rivals.”
She thought for a second. “Maybe I needed a break from it, but mostly it was so I could stand on my own two feet. My dad is like royalty there. I have no doubt they will be building him a statue when he retires or name a building after him. He is great but I wanted to be Alex not coach Ambrose’s daughter. At UT my dad’s name didn’t open any doors for me.”
That was an understatement. No doubt, Alex had to work harder at UT because of her dad’s reputation. They were getting dangerously close to feelings territory, where Alex usually shut him down, but Cane pushed further. “Is that why you don’t want people to know about us? Because you don’t want to just be Cane Clayburn’s girlfriend.”
“I don’t want to be known as anyone’s girlfriend.”
“And yet, here we are. Someday you will be somebody’s wife, not just a girlfriend.” He was careful to say somebody, nothing specific, no pressure. It was fine to joke about marriage and kids but this was a serious conversation; one of their few.
“Someday I will probably need a root canal, too. I’m not going to dwell on that, either. Now come on, the Salvatore brothers wait for no man.”
They went back to the kitchen. Cane dished himself a plate. “Want some salad at least?”
Alex glanced up from her phone. “No thanks, Corn Fed.”
Cane frowned. He didn’t want to eat in front of her if she wasn’t going to join him but he would starve if he adopted an eat-only-when-Alex-eats policy. In the last month, they had not shared a single meal together. She was always “not hungry” or had “just eaten”. It was bullshit. She was starving herself to look thinner on camera. He promised himself not to fight with her about it tonight but it was getting ridiculous. He was going to have to bring it up at some point. He had promised to be supportive but he could not support this. It wasn’t healthy.
He cut into his steak to distract himself. “How was Connecticut?” he asked.
Alex nodded. “Connecticut is cold. And there aren’t gun racks on the back of everyone’s truck. It’s weird, it’s like nobody expects to go hunting on their way to the supermarket. Oh, and get this, not a single ‘get ur dun’ bumper sticker in the whole state. Oh...oh...oh and nobody says y’all.”
“Sounds barbaric. I couldn’t do it.” Cane smiled but he realized Alex hadn’t really answered the question. She never wanted to talk about what was happening at ESPN. At some point, she was going to be offered a job at their headquarters. They were trialing her. She never used those words but it was clear. The interview with Max Argyle had gotten their attention. If she wasn’t offered an anchor job by the end of the season, he would be surprised. Cane tried to be happy for her, but he missed her as it was but at least now she was based in the same city. They were going to have that talk soon. He looked forward to that one about as much as he looked forward to talking to her about her new diet. He didn’t want to fight. They got so little time together as it was. Cane finished his meal in silence.
“I also have the box set of The Wire if you would prefer to watch that,” Cane said as he sat down on the couch.
Alex shook her head. “No way. We’re doing this, Corn Fed.” Alex sat down in the chair diagonal to the television. Cane shook his head and pointed to the couch.
“No, if we’re watching, we’re cuddling.”
Alex made an exasperated noise but moved to sit beside him. He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close. God, she felt good. Alex was at his house. He never thought he would enjoy something so simple as watching stupid shows. Before he met Alex, this would be on the top of his list of worst ways to spend a Friday night. He had always been a hit-it-then-quit-it type. Relationships were out of the question. God, he had been stupid. What an ass he was. A bizarre idea came to mind. What if he would have met Alex at UT? Hooked up with her then? He would have spared himself a lot of questionable decisions, and he would have had more time with her. He wished he could go back and speak to his college self, tell him to look out for the hot journalism major. He smiled at the thought.
“You’re not even watching. You’re staring at me.” Alex’s eyes darted at him.
“Cause you’re beautiful.” Cane pressed a kiss against her temple.
“So are the Salvatores. Now watch.”
Cane glanced back at the TV. She was right, he had no idea what was going on and he didn’t care, he was happy to just sit and hold her.
As if she was reading his mind, Alex tapped his chest. “You better start paying attention. There will be a test at the end.”
Cane groaned. “Okay, catch me up. So, we have these two gay guys—”
Alex snapped her head around. “What gay guys? There are no gay guys.”
Cane’s eyes narrowed. Was she being serious? He paused the show. “Those two.” He pointed at the screen. “Totally gay.”
“They are brothers!”
He glanced at the screen. “And they’re a couple? Well, that is just gross. What kind of shit do you watch, Alex? Next time, I’m picking.”
“Arg, Corn Fed. You are managing to ruin The Vampire Diaries for me. Not cool.” Alex stood up. “Let’s have sex. That’s one thing you can’t ruin.” She smiled as she offered him a hand to help him off the couch. Cane glanced at her jeans, they hung low on her hips, not because of the style but because they were too big. He pulled back the waist and read the tag. Before he could stop himself, he shook his head. He ran his hand over her ass. The curve was gone. Her butt wasn’t just smaller, it had disappeared. The conversation couldn’t wait.
“What happened to my friend?” Cane asked, patting her bottom. Alex grabbed his hand and tried to pull him up from the couch but he didn’t budge. “How much do you weigh now?”
Alex dropped his hand. “Never ask a woman how much she weighs. That is boyfriend 101.”
“You have gone down a size already. You were a six when we got together and now, you’re in a four and they’re too big.”
Alex held up her hands. “The camera adds ten pounds.”
He ignored her argument. He had heard it from her before. “Please tell me you have reached your target and you’re not trying to lose any more.”
Alex ignored him. “Take me to bed, Corn Fed.” She smiled. She was trying to distract him with sex. And damn if it wasn’t a solid strategy. The blood began diverting away from his head the moment he knew sex was on the table. Nope. Cane stood up. This needed to be addressed. His cock would hate him for this but it needed done.
“I have a surprise.” He nodded with pride.
“Ooh, I like surprises. Am I going to need a safe word for this or anything? Should I start limbering up?”
Cane forced himself to look past her. Not going to be distracted. But God she was sexy. They could have this conversation after sex, or even during sex, he just needed to be inside her. He gave his head a hard shake to dislodge the thought. Focus.
“Remember our first date?”
“You mean my desk. I remember it well. I can’t look at a stopwatch without getting wet. So, thanks for that, Corn Fed.”
Cane smiled. Immediately the image of her on her desk, her legs spread so he could admire her pussy as he stroked her. He was a goner as soon as he touched her. Instantly he was hard. He was fighting a losing battle. Alex would be straddling him within a minute.
But that is what she wanted, to distract him. Cane took a step back. He couldn’t be close to her right now, not without burying his cock deep in her.
“Perry’s.” His voice was strained. “Our first date was at Perry’s.”
“Yes. I remember watching you in the mirror when we had sex in the bathroom. Good times. I counted ten bathrooms when you gave me the tour. How long do you think it would take to christen every one?”
Cane took in a sharp breath. He had had the same thought after that night. Actually, he thought about how long it would take them to have sex in every room in his house. Yep, they would be doing that soon...but not until he finished the conversation.
“That night you ordered peanut butter cheesecake and when you were eating it you made the same sound you do when we have sex. So, I went in to Perry’s today and bought you a cheesecake. Let’s have dessert. And then we can burn off the calories.” It was a challenge. He hoped she would accept it. She needed to start eating normally again.
Alex moved toward him. Her hands went to his zipper. “Or you can eat it off me. We can skip the bathroom sex and start with kitchen counter sex.”
His cock sprung out when she unzipped his pants. Alex worked over his hard length. He would stop her in a minute. But God it felt good. It had been too long. Every day he stroked himself and pretended it was her, but it was nowhere near as good. Just a few more seconds. Alex lowered her head. Her tongue licked around the crown, pulling him into her mouth. Oh fuck, that was good. She knew exactly how he liked it. Her hands cupped his balls as she sucked. He laced his fingers through her dark hair. He would come like this. A few more minutes and he would be coming down her throat.
Somewhere in the back of his mind, a voice told him she was doing this just to distract him. He didn’t care. It felt too good to stop. But the voice got louder. He needed to speak to her. This is one of the times where Alex needed a push. With a pained groan, Cane pulled away.
Alex’s head snapped up; her eyes wide with surprise. “What’s wrong? Did I hurt you?”
“God no. The opposite of that.” He didn’t want to stop the physical intensity of his enjoyment with Alex, but he had to stop and address the physical demise of her body.
“What did you eat today?”
Alex blinked a few times. “What?”
“What have you had to eat? What did you have for dinner?”
“I have eaten.”
“What, tell me what you have eaten.”
Alex’s eyes flashed with defiance. “No. It doesn’t matter.”
For a long moment silence reigned, neither of them willing to relinquish any ground. “Fine,” Cane said eventually. “Let’s go to bed.”
Alex visibly relaxed. She thought he was dropping it. Best she learned now that he was just as stubborn as her. You don’t make it to his level in sports by having a weak will.
Cane stripped down to his boxers. Usually, he slept naked but he was going to need all the help he could get. He forced himself to look away when Alex got undressed. Strong. Iron will. Then he made the mistake of looking up just as she slipped his jersey on. Fuck. She knew what that did to him. Nope. Not tonight. He let out a stream of air.
Cane waited for Alex to climb into bed before he turned off the lights.
“Good night, Alex. See you in the morning.”
Alex reached out and stroked his chest. “Forget the morning.”
Cane turned Alex over until she was facing away from him and then pulled her against his chest, pinning her arms in place so she could not touch him. He had an iron will but he was also a man with a beautiful willing woman in his bed.
“Good night, Alex,” he said again through clenched teeth. “We’re not having sex again until you start eating.”
“What?” Alex tried to squirm out of his embrace but he held her firmly against him.
“Good night, Alex.” It was his turn to not want to talk. She needed to go to sleep or eat something and then climb on top of him; those were the two choices. He didn’t have time for anything else.
“Why am I here if we’re not going to have sex?” She sounded clearly surprised.
Not nearly as surprised as him. He was forgoing sex with the woman he loved because it was the best thing for her. How fucking ridiculous was that? His temples pounded. Great, now he had a headache and a massive erection, two of the things least conducive to sleep. “Because I want a healthy girlfriend more than I want sex.”
“Your penis is poking me in the back.”
“I know. And if you keep moving, I will come on your back.” He didn’t mean to sound pissed, but he was pissed. This is not how he expected his weekend to go. He had not seen Alex for a week and all he wanted to do was be deep inside of her. Not be hard on the outside.
“Do you want me to go home?”
“No. I want you to eat a slice of cheesecake and then ride me.”
Alex laughed. “You are ridiculous. Have I ever told you that?”
“Once a day since we met.”
“I’m not going to eat cheesecake this weekend. Just so we’re clear. I don’t want you holding out hope for that. This is my chance, Cane. I have one shot. I need to grab it with both hands.”
“Alex you’re so smart and so fucking sexy. Of course, they will want you. But why do you want to work somewhere you have to starve yourself to fit in? I’m not okay with that. We’re together now and my job is to look after you even if it pisses you off.”
Alex was quiet for a long time. He thought she might have fallen asleep but eventually she said,
“You’re a good man, Corn Fed.” She pressed a kiss to his knuckles.
Cane smiled. She didn’t give in but she didn’t fight him; that was progress. He would claim that one as a victory. Should he press his luck? Probably not but he would.
“Come home with me for Thanksgiving. My family wants to meet you.”
Alex stiffened. “I can’t. I always go to the OU game so I can be with my dad. Ever since I was a kid, I have sat on the bench with him. I love it. Thanksgiving has always meant hot dogs and nachos and hanging out with my dad.”
“You’ve never had turkey, and pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving? That is just sad.”
“No, it’s not. We just have a different tradition than you.” Her body moved back.
Cane pulled her in closer. “Traditions change. You’re coming home with me. Next year we’ll go to the OU game. Those are words I never thought I would ever utter. Look at us. We are nailing this couple thing.”
“Well, we’re certainly not nailing each other.” She let her head nestle in his arms.
“Eat the cheesecake and we will be, sweetheart.”
Alex rubbed her ass along the length of his cock. “Good night, Corn Fed.”
Fuck! It was going to be a long night.