Chapter 16

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

RIPLEY

A fter a few long weeks of travel, we're finally back home. We were off today, but the guys have a game tonight, and we're all going.

I'm lying in Bailey's bed while Arizona is in our apartment showering. "How is it going at Tanner Montgomery's house with his daughter?"

She gives me a huge smile. "It's amazing. Harper is a doll. I adore her. The house is like nothing you've ever imagined. I know Tanner Montgomery is the biggest sports agent around, but I don't think I appreciated it until I saw that house. It's the biggest and nicest I've ever seen. He just had a batting cage built in the backyard, so Harper and I hit every time I'm there. He said he was sick of taking her to the crappy cages all the time. He put in a whole state-of-the-art system for her. He's such a good dad."

She says it with a dreamy look on her face.

Kam was making fun of Bailey earlier for possibly having a crush on Tanner. I wasn't sure it was true, but now I'm thinking it is.

"Are you crushing on him?"

Before she can answer, Kam walks in and answers, "Fuck yes, she is. She's always been into older guys."

Bailey rolls her eyes. "Cut it out. I've been into guys five or six years older. Tanner is a lot older."

Kam shrugs. "Fifteen years isn't a big deal. You just barely make it into the age gap rulebook."

Bailey sighs. "I'm afraid to ask what that means. What age gap rulebook?"

"Half your age plus seven is acceptable. You said Tanner is forty-three. Half his age is roughly twenty-one, plus seven is twenty-eight, your exact age. And before you ask, I didn't make it up. That's definitely a real thing."

Bailey shakes her head. "I don't think that's a real thing, but it doesn't matter. There's nothing going on between us."

"Yet." Kam smiles. "I bet you can say yes daddy with your mouth full."

I burst out laughing. Bailey is trying to hold in hers.

Kam places her hand on Bailey's shoulder. "Just remember, you can't pick your father, but you can pick your daddy."

Even Bailey can't help but laugh at that one. "You're ducking nuts."

Kam raises an eyebrow. "Ducking? If you're ducking and not fucking, you're doing it wrong."

Bailey smiles. "My biggest issue is watching my mouth around Harper." She narrows her eyes at Kam. "Living with you my whole life has given me a foul mouth and a dirty mind. I need to work on censoring myself, even when Harper and her friends aren't around."

Kam shrugs. "Well, I'm jumping in the shower so I can make sure my bussy is nice and ready for whoever enters her tonight."

We're at the game. It's tied at one going into the seventh inning. Quincy is pitching a gem. Every time he takes the mound each inning, he looks my way.

Kam leans over and whispers, "You can't possibly tell me there's nothing going on between you two. He eye fucks you every damn inning."

She's not wrong. He's never been this obvious before. I look at Arizona to see if she's noticing it too, but fortunately she's staring at Layton when they run onto the field every inning. Not Quincy.

I ignore Kam and whisper to Arizona. "You should tell your brother about you and Layton. It's not fair to keep lying to him."

She nods. "Soon. I'm just terrified that if something goes wrong with Layton, it will impact his relationship with Quincy. They're such good friends. And teammates. You see how Quincy is with Marc. I can't have that happen between him and Layton."

"It doesn't look like you and Layton are splitting anytime soon. And they're friends. Quincy and Marc weren't. Quincy always hated him."

She nods, knowing I'm right. "I guess we should tell him. Soon. Maybe after the season. They're about to start the playoffs. I don't want to mess with that."

"That's still a few weeks off. You guys are so obvious."

She takes a deep breath. "Okay. We'll tone it down until the season is over." She bites her lip. "Well, we'll try to. He's just so—"

"In love with you."

She looks at me with uncertainty.

I wrap my arm around her. "He's in love with you, babe."

She blows out a breath. "It's all happening so fast."

I can't help but look at Quincy. "When you know, you know. It's an unstoppable force of nature."

Quincy gave up a two-run home run in the top of the eighth inning. I could tell he was beating himself up when it happened. Instead of celebrating the fact that he's ascended to the top spot in the pitching rotation of one of the best teams in baseball, he's carrying the burden of the team's success on his shoulders. I can physically see it weighing on him. I've never seen him more stressed than he is right now.

Fortunately for him, Layton hit a three-run bomb at the bottom of the eighth inning, and the Cougars won the game by one run. Layton is on the best hitting streak of his career. We're all headed to Screwballs after the game to celebrate the important late-season victory.

Layton walks in without Arizona. I look at him. "Where's our girl?"

"She's outside talking to Quincy. I'll order her favorite beer."

"She likes the—"

He holds up his hand and gives me a sweet smile. "I know what my girl drinks."

Yep, he's in love with her.

The whole crew is here, even Trey and Gemma, who don't always join us due to having a new baby at home. Trey goes to the bar and Gemma quickly turns to the table. In a bit of a panicked, low voice, she says, "His birthday is next week. Do you guys have any ideas for gifts? I'm drawing a blank. He honestly has everything."

Cheetah raises his eyebrow. "You know what all men want for their birthdays?"

She narrows her eyes. "I'm afraid to ask. What?"

"We all wear blow jobs. Size? Your mouth."

Gemma starts laughing. "Oh shit, that's a good one. I'm gonna use that in one of my books."

She gasps, quickly covers her mouth, and mumbles, "Shit."

I look at her. "I thought you were a lawyer. Are you an author too?"

Cheetah smirks. He knows something we don't know.

She scrunches her face. "I…umm…I actually write romance novels under a pen name. Not many people know about it. I would appreciate you keeping it between us. Trey says he's proud of me, but I'm sure judgmental assholes would have a field day with him if they found out. And I don't want to use his notoriety."

I stand there in shock. We're all usually very casual, but not Gemma. She's always got on designer clothes. She's not snobby at all, she's just always perfectly made up and classy. I didn't expect this from her.

I ask, "What have you written?"

She shrugs as if it's no big deal. "A handful of books. It's just a fun hobby. I can send you a link to my website if you want to check them out."

Kam seems intrigued. "Are they super spicy?"

Gemma gives a guilty look. "It's all relative, I suppose. Nothing too dark and depraved, but I think most people think of them as super spicy. "

Kam nods. "Give us an example of something dirty you've recently written. Be very specific."

"Hmm." She gives a sly smile as something occurs to her. "I just wrote a scene where the man eats cherries directly from the woman's—"

Cheetah interrupts, "Love tunnel?"

Gemma giggles. "Yes, love tunnel. That's a good name. I might use that too. Cheetah, you're a gold mine for my books."

He winks at her like they have a secret but then turns back to the rest of us. "I think my new food fetish is growing." He turns to Kam. "Kam bam, I'm in the mood for Japanese tonight. Maybe your bento box will do."

She shakes her head. "I'm not an all-you-can-eat buffet, kitten."

"In my mind you are." He thumps his head. "I dream every night about your long legs wrapped around my face. They're like peanut butter. Smooth and easy to spread."

Kam licks her lips suggestively. "That's very presumptuous of you. What makes you think they're smooth?"

Cheetah smiles at her as something passes between them. "I would kill to eat your muffin for breakfast."

Kam's eyes sparkle. "Why do you get to have all the fun? Maybe I want a meal for two with a hairy view?"

Man, these two never let up. They've each met their match.

Arizona finally walks in, followed shortly thereafter by Quincy. She looks annoyed, and he looks unhappy.

After some fun banter among this crazy crew, Trey holds up his drink. "To Layton, for another career night. It's great to see you playing this way again, brother."

We all lift our glasses, but Layton stares at Arizona with pure lust in his eyes. "It's all thanks to my beautiful muse." And then he kisses her. Deeply.

In true Arizona fashion, she gives it right back to him .

It just got very hot in here. So much for toning it down.

Everyone starts hooting and hollering, but I look at Quincy, and he seems pained as he turns his head to me and mouths, "Is it real?"

Unwilling to betray Arizona, I remain stoic and simply shrug my shoulders.

He appears hurt. Not by the kiss in front of him, but that I'm choosing her over him.

He stands abruptly, causing his chair to screech, and walks straight out of Screwballs.

Arizona assumes he's pissed about the kiss and starts to go after him, but I grab her arm. "I've got it. I'll talk to him. You stay and have fun with your man."

She lets out a breath. "Fine by me. I'm sick of him treating me like a child when he's the real child. He just had a temper tantrum."

I don't think that's what just happened, but I'm certainly not saying anything. "I know, sweetie. He worries about you. I'll talk to him."

I get up and leave in search of Quincy, quickly finding him around the corner of the building in an alleyway. He's leaning up against the brick wall, looking tormented.

He turns his head when he hears me coming. "Why do you always choose her over me?"

"She's my best friend. The most important person in the world to me. I love her."

He gives me a small, crooked smile. "I thought you loved me too."

"You don't want my love."

He takes a few breaths and tightens his jaw. "What if I do?"

"A knee-jerk reaction from seeing me with another man isn't a reason for you to accept my love. I told you. I won't be kept in the dark anymore. I have needs too and, unlike yours, they're not just physical."

He nods. He knows I'm right. "I'm sorry I can't be what you need. I wish more than anything that I could be."

"Me too, Quincy. Me too."

Before I can stop him, he pulls me into his arms. I try to pull away, but he overpowers me. "Please. Let me hold you for a minute. Let me take you in. It calms the chaos in my head."

I can't help but relax into him and wrap my arms around his waist. My head rests on his chest as we stand there embracing silently for several long minutes.

He's hurting so much. It breaks my heart.

He sinks his nose into my neck, inhaling me as he often used to do. His voice cracks as he admits, "I miss this. I miss us."

"You miss sex."

He pulls his head back. Tears sting his eyes. "Don't you understand? It has nothing to do with sex. I miss you. I'm empty without you. Nothing has meaning to me without you."

I want to confront him about messing with my head. About telling me not to love him, telling me we can't be together long term, but then also telling me he's missing me and that he's empty without me. But as it has so many times in the past, my desire to help him, to please him, trumps everything else right now, even my own sanity.

I reach down for his belt buckle and unfasten it. He pinches his eyebrows together. "What are you doing?"

"Let me help you relax. I know what you need. I'll take care of you." I mumble, "Like always."

He watches on as I unzip his pants, slide my hand inside his boxers, and pull out his rapidly growing cock.

Cheez, that fucker is big. It always shocks me. Did it get bigger in the past two years? Maybe seeing other men has me forgetting that he practically has a third arm.

I'm suddenly throbbing, remembering what it does to my body.

I drop down to my knees, and he whispers, "Holy shit."

I give him a few pumps. He briefly closes his eyes. "I've missed your touch. So much."

Without breaking eye contact or my grip on him, I slowly lick around his balls. I learned our first night together how much he enjoys that and have done it many times since. There's nothing better than having him at my mercy for a change.

My tongue eagerly worships every crevice and vein on his perfect cock as I slowly work my way up. He loves the long tease. Seemingly oblivious to our surroundings, that's what I give him.

Swirling my tongue around his crown, I taste the saltiness already oozing from him.

"Fuck, Shortcake. You're so fucking good at this."

I can't help but smile as I eventually take him into my mouth, all the way to the back of my throat. It took me some time to learn how to do that for him, but I did, and I love the pleasure that oozes from him when I do.

I move my head back slowly, sucking as hard as I can along the way. His cock further hardens as I do it.

He looks down at me. "Every other fucking woman goes right for the main event. No one takes better care of me than you. No one makes me come harder."

I'd jump for joy right now if I didn't have a mouth full of Quincy. Is it fucked up that his words of praise turn me on, even while referencing other women? You bet it is, but it also has me squeezing my own legs together to tame the throb.

I open my throat and suck him back in until I find a pace that has him moaning in an animalistic fashion. Knowing what he enjoys, I then raise my hands and intertwine my fingers on my head.

He grabs them along with a fistful of my hair and starts to fuck my mouth hard. My eyes and mouth are watering while my throat tightens around him.

"Oh fuck, baby. Yes."

He thrusts in and out of my mouth with reckless abandon. I happily give him tongue, suction, and moans, all the things he wants and needs.

I feel him swell just a drop more, his tell that he's about to come. He pushes in deep. With a loud groan, he overflows my mouth as he comes long and hard down the back of my throat.

I'm able to swallow most of it, though a little leaks out. I know he's going to scoop it up and feed it to me, which he does. I happily oblige, sucking his semen-covered finger into my mouth.

Breathlessly leaning against the wall, he releases his hold on my hands and hair.

I stand and run my hands up his chest until they slide around his neck. Looking up at him, our eyes meet. His are pleading for more.

I nod and can't help but move my lips toward his. For the first time in two years, our lips meet. His taste is the most comforting, natural thing in the world to me. It takes me back to our first kiss twelve years ago. To the first time he made love to me ten years ago. To every time he's made love to me since. He always kisses me long and hard. Even if we would meet for a quickie, kissing has never been absent. I wonder if other women get lost in his kisses like I do.

He moans into my mouth as he deepens the kiss. His hands immediately move down the back of my leggings and into my panties. Quincy has always been obsessed with my ass. I don't know why, it's big, flabby, and dimpled, but he undoubtedly worships it. When we were sleeping together in Houston, he couldn't keep his hands or anything else off it. He's probably done me from behind as many times as facing each other. And then there's the one night I gave him my ass. Another first belonging to him. I don't think I've ever seen him more turned on than he was that night.

He grinds his quickly forming partial erection against me. I ache for him on a level I'll never truly understand.

He turns us around, so my back is now to the wall, and mumbles into my lips, "I need you, Shortcake."

Because I need him too, I respond, "I know. Take what you need."

Without breaking the kiss, he manages to remove my shoes before dragging my leggings and panties down my legs.

I mumble into his mouth, "Do you have a condom? I don't have the IUD anymore." Not that we didn't always use condoms before, but now I need to be extra diligent.

As he reaches for his wallet, I start to turn around, assuming he'll do me from behind, but he holds me in place. "I want to look into your eyes when I'm back inside you. I miss your eyes."

I don't know if I can handle the intimacy of that, and I'm not sure how the logistics of this are going to work, but I'll go with it for now. Maybe he can lift one of my legs.

He pulls down his pants just a bit more. I grab his cock and start to pump him. He just came a minute ago and will need some coaxing.

He grabs my wrist and pulls my hand away. He then runs his fingers through my folds, which are now practically dripping.

"You're soaked, Shortcake. Does sucking my cock make you wet?"

I breathe, "You know it does. "

Looking me square in the eyes, he sticks those fingers into his mouth. I feel and then see his cock harden to full mast in what must be a world record for turnaround time.

There's something so erotic about the fact that my taste did that to him. My pussy is now pulsing, aching to be filled by him in a way only Quincy can.

He sheaths himself in the condom and grabs one of my legs. When he goes to grab the other, I stop him. "What are you doing? You can't lift me. You'll get injured."

"If I want to lift you up and fuck you against this wall, I will."

At that, he lifts my other leg. Newsflash, I'm heavy. Very heavy. There's a reason I've never had sex like this. I'm not the kind of woman you can lift and fuck against a shower wall, or any other wall for that matter. I don't know what Quincy's thinking. I'm suddenly terrified that he's going to miss the playoffs because he throws his back out by trying to lift me.

I lock my ankles and try to lean as much of my weight against the wall as I can.

He doesn't seem concerned about any of that. He also doesn't seem to have any trouble with this position. Swiveling his hips until his tip finds my entrance, he then slams it into me.

I throw my head back as much as I can against the hard wall. "Ah, Quincy. Relax."

"Don't tell me how to fuck my wife. I know what she needs."

He starts to drive in and out of me. I can't believe we're having sex like this. And it's good, really good. He must be Hercules. Or Popeye, and he ate lots of spinach this morning because it seems effortless for him to hold me and fuck me this way.

He buries his face in my neck as the delicious onslaught continues. He mumbles into me, "Oh god, I've missed this. You have no idea how much I need you."

Him saying things like that fucks with my head, but I'm not going to focus on it. I know this is purely a physical release for him. I'm focusing on what he's doing to my body, not what he's whispering in my ear. It's what he's always done to my body, electrify it. Why can't I share this kind of passion with anyone else?

He kisses up my neck. "And I miss kissing."

I don't know what that means, but his lips take mine, and all rational thought escapes me. Our tongues work together like they've done it a thousand times before. They have done it a thousand times before. And it's perfect. Like always.

I think I'd rather he just fuck me, not kiss me. I know I read too much into his kisses because whenever his lips are sealed over mine, I can't help but be flooded with hope. I can't help but feel like he loves me the way I love him.

He pushes his long cock in so damn deep. It's like he reaches the end of me…and then some. It's not possible for other men to reach the depths Quincy does, both physically and metaphorically.

I'm pulling his gorgeous hair. I tear my lips away and breathe, "So good. Oh, Quincy."

He pushes his tongue back into my mouth as he pants, "More kissing. I need it. I need you."

He pounds into my body like a man possessed, both with his cock and tongue. I open my eyes and stare at him. His face is dripping with desire. If I didn't know better, I'd think he was desperate for me.

At some point, I hear Arizona giggling around the corner. She and Layton must be outside of the bar. They're not very quiet in their flirting and dirty talk. Did they forget we're supposed to be out here talking? He mentions them going to his place.

I quickly look at Quincy. He's so absorbed in what we're doing that he doesn't even hear them. I spend a minute terrified that he'll hear their banter and spend another fearful that they'll find us, but after a few moments, it's quiet again, other than our moans and slapping skin.

He's had both hands on my ass the whole time, but now one of them slides up my shirt, pulls down my bra, and grabs one of my breasts. "God, I miss these tits. You have the best tits."

I run my fingers through his curls while he starts massaging my nipple. I feel the sexy pitching-produced callouses of his fingertips before he pinches my nipple hard, how he knows I like it.

It's a direct line to my clit. I feel fireworks working their way through my body. Inch by inch, making their way to my core until I'm ready to detonate in a way that only Quincy Abbott can bring out of me.

"Fuck yes. I can feel you squeezing my cock so perfectly. Do you have any idea how good your pussy feels? Your wet, tasty pussy. After the other night, I had to lick my lips, tasting you just to get myself off. So fucking sweet."

His dirty talk never ceases to ignite me.

He then moves his hand up to my throat. My Achilles heel. As he applies pressure, he whispers, "I know what my wife needs to get off. I own your pussy, baby, I always will."

That's about all I can handle. My toes curl and I explode in pure bliss. It's more than just an orgasm. It's two years of missing him being inside me physically pouring out. I can hear the sounds of my slickness. I can feel it gushing out of me.

I bite his shoulder to attempt to stifle my unavoidable screams, having no clue whether or not I'm successful because the rest of the world, and the fact that we're in a city alley, ceases to exist right now.

Once he knows that I'm taken care of, he picks up the pace and pistons into me until he finds his own release, grunting loudly, very loudly, as he floods the condom with his warm seed.

We don't move for several minutes, both panting heavily. His face is buried in my neck, constantly inhaling me. It's something he's always done. I know he likes the way I smell. He's never been shy about it.

At some point, I pat his back. "Put me down. You're going to get hurt."

He doesn't move. "No. I don't want this to end."

I unlock my ankles and slowly force my legs down. They're a bit numb and wobbly from the mind-blowing orgasm he just gave me. It takes me a moment to get my bearings.

I try to push him away, but he won't budge. "Quincy," I whine.

He mumbles into my neck, "Will you come home with me?"

"It's not a good idea."

He sighs as his shoulders fall and he lifts his head, looking sad. "Then I'll take you back to Arizona, so I know you'll get home safely."

"Umm…she left."

"Without you?"

I look up and give him a look, trying to convey what he must already know.

I see the moment realization hits. "She left with him, didn't she?"

I nod once.

"His place?"

I nod again .

"How long has it been going on?"

"I'm not saying anything else."

He hangs his head. In a resigned tone, he says, "Okay. I'll take you home."

"You don't have to."

"I want to. Can we walk though? It's nice out."

"Sure."

We get dressed and begin the walk toward my apartment. He intertwines his fingers through mine. His thumb lovingly runs over my fingers. I love the animal in Quincy, but tender Quincy threatens my psyche more than anything. Even something as simple as handholding isn't the norm for him, so it hits me extra hard when he does it.

We're silent for a bit until I ask, "I still don't understand why you care so much about Arizona and Layton. It's silly. I know you said he's a womanizer, but she can handle herself."

His jaw tightens. "Like she did with Marc?"

"She was young and na?ve. She's different now. Stronger. And Layton isn't Marc. Neither of us liked Marc. We both adore Layton. Don't you see the way he looks at her?"

He rolls his eyes. "Yes, I fucking see it, but I watched him move from woman to woman for eight months. I'm telling you; he was with a different woman every night. I've seen too much. I'd rather die than see her go through that hurt again. I practically lost my sister after Marc left her."

"I know. I felt the same. Honestly, I didn't want to move to Philly knowing I'd see you all the time. I did it for her. She needed me."

He winces. "Ouch."

"It's the truth. This isn't easy for me. Being around you so much. I told you I was in love with you, and you responded by walking out of my life. "

"You kicked me out and told me it was over. You're the one who walked away."

"No, Quincy. I told you I was in love with you. You couldn't handle it. You didn't love me back. I wasn't okay. I'm still not okay. I was doing better, but being around you again stifles my progress." I look down and swallow at what I'm going to say. "I've been thinking about it. Arizona is in a good place now. When this season is done, I think I might request a trade."

His eyes widen. "What? Why?"

"You know why, and you know it's for the best. You have a chokehold on me."

He smirks. "I thought you liked my chokehold on you."

I can't help but smile and throw him a soft elbow to the gut.

He mock grunts. "Don't do anything rash. We all love having you around."

We walk into my building. I try to send him home, but he insists on dropping me at my door. As we're walking down the hallway, we hear a woman's scream coming from Kam and Bailey's apartment. Then we hear a man scream too.

I turn to Quincy. He scrunches his face in confusion. "That's Cheetah."

Then we hear another woman's scream followed by laughter. It's actually two women laughing while Cheetah is still screaming. Screaming sort of like a girl.

I shake my head. "You should go. I'm going to see what insanity has gone on in there. God knows what those crazies are up to."

He chuckles. "Do you think Kam and Cheetah finally sealed the deal?"

I shrug. "I have no idea. I'll see you later."

He rubs my face. "Thanks for tonight. It was…it was…perfect."

Not wanting to show any emotion, I kiss his cheek and turn to open Kam and Bailey's door. I'm most definitely not prepared for the scene in front of me.

There is water everywhere, and I mean everywhere . Bailey is in pajamas, and Kam is clearly naked but wrapped in a sheet. What truly catches my eye is Cheetah running around like a madman, naked, trying to throw a completely inadequate number of towels on the water pouring from Kam's bedroom.

I look at Kam and Bailey with a huge smile. "The waterbed popped?"

Kam straightens her shoulders and smiles proudly. "We fucked it to death."

I let out a laugh. "We all saw that one coming."

Cheetah is screaming in Spanish while he runs around. I yell, "Cheetah, towels aren't going to work."

"Dios mio! I have to do something."

I look him up and down and then turn to Kam and Bailey. "Is it me or are his balls bizarrely big?"

Kam nods. "They're fucking huge. He said they've always been that way. And they're sensitive. Really sensitive. He was practically fucking me and spanking me at the same time. It was kinda cool."

I can't take my eyes off them. "I've never seen anything like it. They're like alien balls."

Bailey giggles. "They're extrateressticle for sure."

We all laugh as Cheetah continues to run around naked.

Eventually, the superintendent shows up. It's a long night of cleaning. With Arizona gone, Kam and Bailey sleep in her bed while the cleaning crew continues to work on their apartment and the one below them, both completely flooded.