20. Graham

SEPTEMBER

Coach blows his whistle, signaling everyone to gather near the bench. My lungs burn as I skate over to the group, and I take a knee as he starts to talk.

“Nice effort out there today, men. Get changed and showered. We’ll have lunch and then meet in the video room to review some footage before we end our first day of camp.”

Walking into the rink today was bittersweet, knowing it was my last first day ever. I made it official with the league that I’ll be retiring at the end of the season. The news traveled fast in the media, and I’ve already had multiple news shows reach out for interviews.

“You going to be able to get up, old man?” Kaden asks as he skates around where I’m still kneeling on the ice.

“I can skate circles around you, kid. Don’t forget that.”

“Not so sure about that,” he jokes as he takes off for a lap around the ice, showing off his speed. He’s probably right. I’m not sure I could keep up with him quite yet. I might have slacked off a little too much this summer, but I’ll be ready to hit the season hard after a few weeks of camp and preseason.

“Hi.” Savannah meets me at the door when I make it home. The house smells amazing, as if she’s been cooking all day again.

“Hey, baby.” I wrap her up in my arms and press my lips to hers. “What are you cooking?”

“Chicken and dumplings, pull-apart garlic bread, and I have an apple pie about to go in the other oven.”

“Have I died and gone to heaven?” I ask before releasing her from my arms.

“Maybe.” She winks at me. “I saw a video for the chicken and dumplings, and it sounded so good, so I rummaged through the pantry, then went and got the few things I needed. The pull-apart bread is something I’ve been meaning to try, and, well, apple pie looked and smelled amazing when I walked past the bakery, so I grabbed everything I needed to make my own.”

“A man could get used to coming home to this,” I say.

I was so proud of her this summer. After returning from Europe and the Reese Blackwood tour, she researched some interpreting jobs and decided to turn in her notice at the school. Now, she works a couple of days each week and is free to travel. She will be able to attend most of my games this season. A week after we returned, we also cleaned out her apartment, sold off most of her furniture, since we didn’t need it here at the house, and now she officially calls my house her home.

“I aim to please, and what’s the saying? The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.”

“Honey, you captured my heart a long time ago.”

“I know, but cooking is my love language, so just get used to coming home to full feasts.”

“I might have to put in an extra workout each week if meals are going to be this good,” I tease.

“Oh please, your six-pack isn’t at risk. I’ll make sure of that.”

“I’m sure you will.” I pin her against the island and run my lips down her exposed neck. “Maybe I should just eat you tonight. Or at least have you as a snack.”

“Mmm. Not now, I don’t want to burn dinner.”

“After, then?”

“Yes,” she agrees.

“Graham.” Savannah cries out my name as I slide into her from behind. I have the slim vibrator inside her pussy, pressing right against her G-spot as my cock glides along it.

“That’s it, baby. Take my cock like the good girl you are. Come, baby. Soak me with your release.” I talk to her as I work her body right to the edge, then slow my thrusts to prolong her orgasm from cresting over the edge.

“I need to come,” she whines.

“Oh, you will. Just enjoy the ride, baby. You’re going to come so hard,” I say as I grab the rose and add it to her clit.

“F-u-c-k,” she cries out each letter as the toys send her back toward release. I let loose and slam my cock in and out of her pussy, loving the way her walls start to clench around my cock with each thrust of my hips.

“Now, Savannah,” I instruct, and like clockwork, she falls over the edge, squirting all over my cock with her release. She collapses forward on the bed, and I grip her hips, pulling them back up so I can chase my own orgasm. It doesn’t take me long before I’m spilling inside her pussy.

I pull out and roll onto my back. My lungs burn as I suck in deep breaths. There are moments I think I might just die from sex with her. It is just that good. Life-changing, if I’m being honest.

She rolls over and into my side, curling up into my embrace. “Incredible,” she whispers.

“Only with you,” I assure her.

We lay there for a little while as we both come down from our orgasms. When they are as powerful as tonight’s, they can take a little while to recover from.

“How about a bath instead of a shower?” I ask, kissing the top of her head.

“Yes, I don’t have the energy to stand for a shower.”

I slip from her side and go into the bathroom, filling the tub with hot water. I add in some bath salts and turn the jets on once the water is high enough to turn them on. I return to the bedroom and pick her up off the bed, carrying her bridal style into the bathroom. Since we’re both naked, I step into the tub and help her get settled against my front. We sit there, relaxing in the hot water for at least a half hour.

“Have I told you lately how much I love you?” she asks, breaking the silence.

“Only every day,” I tell her as I hold her close.

“Thank you for loving me.”

“You don’t have to thank me. I’m the one who should be thanking you. Can you lean forward for a second?” I ask, getting an idea.

She leans forward, and I stand and get out of the tub.

“Where are you going?” she asks as I wrap a towel around my body and quickly try to dry off. I do a half-assed job, as I want to get back to her.

“Just need to grab something really quick. Don’t move. I’ll be back,” I say as I step into the closet. I go straight for the drawer where I stashed the ring I picked out for her a few weeks ago. I’ve just been trying to decide when the perfect moment to ask her is, and tonight feels like the perfect time. I slip the ring from the box and into my palm, then return to the bathroom and slip back into the tub behind her.

“What did you need?” she asks, looking back at me once we’re settled together.

“Savannah, eleven months ago, you came back into my life during a very transitional time. I had a lot of important decisions ahead of me and didn’t know what way the right way was. When you entered the picture, things just fell into place. It was like my world was righted, and for once, I didn’t question where I was headed and if it was the right way. Having you in my life these past eleven months have been some of the best ever in my thirty-seven years of life. I can’t imagine a life without you at the center. Please tell me you’d do me the honor of being my wife and marrying me?” I ask, holding up the ring for her to see.

“Graham,” she gasps. She turns in the water and sits up on her knees, then leans forward and starts to kiss me. I can taste her salty tears as they slide down her cheeks and onto our lips. I pull back and cup her face with my empty hand.

“Is that a yes?” I ask for clarification.

“Yes!” she cries out. I grab her hand and slip the diamond ring onto her finger, and it fits perfectly. “Oh my god, it’s gorgeous and perfect.”

“Liz helped me out a lot. And that photo shoot might have been a ruse,” I admit.

“What?!” she asks, shocked.

“I needed to know what kind of ring you wanted, so we came up with a ruse with the help of a photographer friend. But the store loved the images they took, so they are actually going to use them for a sales campaign, after all.”

“I can’t believe you set up a semi-fake photo shoot just to find out what kind of ring I wanted. That is pretty sneaky, Mr. Webber.”

“It was better than picking a ring that you hated.” I shrug my shoulders. I pull her in for a kiss, which turns heavy, and before we know it, she’s straddling my lap and slipping my cock inside her entrance for the first time as my fiancée.

~