27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Cody

The second Stella exits the building, I can tell something is wrong.

Quickly hopping out of my car, I close the distance between us and immediately pull her into a hug. She slumps against me, her arms hanging loose by her sides.

“Don’t let go.” She murmurs the words against my chest and the raw vulnerability in her voice just about breaks my heart.

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” I pull her closer, wishing my hold was strong enough to protect her from the outside world. Not because Stella can’t fight her own battles, but because she deserves to be saved.

We stay like that for a long time, long enough for the next patient to roll up and enter the building. A few more minutes tick by until finally Stella pulls away with a heavy exhale, “Okay, we can go. Thanks for that.”

“No need to thank me, Stel.” I interlink our fingers and squeeze them gently as I guide her back to the car. Stella climbs in and we fall silent, her looking out the windshield while I look at her.

“How did it go?” It feels like a stupid question to ask given the redness around her eyes, but it’s one that needs to be addressed.

“Terrible.” She turns to me with a sigh, “But weirdly liberating. I’ve booked in to see her again next week.”

“Do you think it helped?”

Stella shrugs, taking a long strand of hair and threading it through her fingers, “Hard to tell. Karen had a lot of productive things to say, she mentioned some coping mechanisms we can slowly implement into my lifestyle. It’s going to take a lot of time and energy, but I do think it will help. Eventually.”

“Sounds promising.”

“It does. I just didn’t expect it to be so… draining, I guess.” Stella gives me a weak smile, “Who knew talking could be so strenuous?”

I chuckle, leaning over to plant a kiss on her forehead, “You did a lot more than talking today, Stel. You took the first step to recovery.”

“Recovery fucking sucks.”

I grin, turning the ignition and putting the car in drive, “It sure does.”

Stella’s spunk starts to return when we arrive at my house. We enter the kitchen and her eyes all but glow when they take in the elaborate spread I laid out on my kitchen countertop earlier today.

“Did you make all this?”

I nod, “Got my mom to send me some family recipes the other day. Figured I needed someone besides myself to judge my cooking skills.”

“Ooh, are those spring rolls?” Grabbing one straight from the pan, Stella takes a bite and moans, “This is amazing, Cody. Thank you.”

I grin, handing her a plate, “This might help.”

“I am definitely coming back for seconds.” Stella hums to herself as she loads up on the miscellaneous dishes I prepared the night before. Spring rolls, pasta salad, gazpacho soup, and dinner rolls all making the strange combination that is tonight’s dinner.

We sit side-by-side at the dinner table, our knees casually brushing.

“I had no idea you could cook.” Happily ripping a bun in half, Stella dips it into her soup with a smile, “You are hereby nominated as the chef in this relationship.”

“So, I’m responsible for all our future meals together?”

“You got it, Captain.”

I shake my head, “Saddling me with all the work. Typical.”

Stella laughs, pushing away her empty bowl and turning to watch me finish my own. Her blue eyes seem darker than normal, her mischievous glint nowhere in sight. Leaning over, I grab the edge of her chair and pull it closer.

Stella laughs and hops from her chair to mine, making herself comfortable on my lap.

I sigh, finally feeling complete, “I missed you this week.”

“I missed you too.” Reaching up to cup my jaw, Stella leans in and plants a gentle kiss on my lips. She pulls away with a smile, “But now we get to make up for lost time.”

My brows tug into a frown, “You’ve had a long day. Let’s not push it.”

“What are we pushing exactly?” Shifting so she’s straddling me, Stella grinds against me, her teasing movements doing nothing to help my argument.

I clench my teeth, willing my shaft not to respond, “I don’t want to take advantage of you.”

“What if I want to take advantage of you?” Stella continues to grind against me, and despite my mental protests, my hands wander down to the firm cheeks of her ass.

“I am trying to be good, here, Stel. You’re making this hard.”

“Mm, that’s not the only thing that’s hard, now is it?” She grins, reaching down to stroke me through my sweatpants. And I let her because when it comes to this girl, I am defenseless.

Completely and utterly at her mercy.

“Hellion.” Surrendering to the energy growing between us, I yank her in for a kiss. She gasps against my lips as the grip on her ass tightens, the tempo of her hips growing faster with every stroke of my tongue.

Stella pulls me off the chair and onto the floor, her hands making quick work of my shirt as she climbs on top of me. Her eyes glint dangerously as her nails rake down my chest, my hips jerking at the sensation.

“You know, this would be a lot more comfortable in be-

Stella steals my sentence with a kiss, making me groan as her hands dig into the waist band of my pants and tugs them off. Her mouth follows the trail her nails made, her tongue tracing every outline of muscle she can find. Before she can get to the jackpot, I yank her back up and strip her to a more equal point of undress.

I’m still laying on my back when I slip a finger inside her, the new position giving me a much better angle to appreciate the small but perfect tits bouncing above me. She moans when I slip a second finger in, my thumb rubbing lazy circles around her swollen bud.

I almost have her at a climax when she removes my hand and pins it above my head.

“Is this the part where you take advantage of me?”

Stella grins, “Told you I always wanted to save a horse.” She moves further down, positioning her entrance at my tip before taking me in.

I groan as her body welcomes me home, “Should I go grab a cowboy hat?”

Stella starts to move, her breathy pants making my hips thrust up to meet hers.

“Wouldn’t want to ruin your hair.” We grin at each other, bodies and minds completely intertwined.

Stella lifts herself almost completely off me before slamming back down, repeating the process over and over again as we draw closer to the finish line. I grip her waist, helping her along as she takes us both on a ride, her movements smooth and precise as she pushes us right over the edge. I feel her climax right before my own, her inner walls clenching me tightly as we finally reach the desired release.

Platinum hair brushes my face as Stella smiles down at me, her flushed face and sparkling eyes easily making this moment the best part of my week.

Stella

“My back will never be the same.”

I burst out laughing as I climb off Cody, my knees already bruising from the unforgiving hardwood. Cody groans as he sits up, and I crack up when I see the red indents lining his broad back.

“Don’t worry, you’ll bounce back.”

“Animal.” Cody grins at me, grabbing his sweatpants from the floor, “Not sure if the horse was saved but I sure got a ride.”

I laugh, stealing his shirt and pulling it on, “Sounds like it worked in your favour.”

“Sure did.” The smile falls from Cody’s face as he pulls something from his pocket, “Shit. We forgot to use a condom.”

I wave away his concern, “I have an IUD. And I’m clean.”

“Same.” Cody runs a hand through his hair, his biceps popping admirably, “We can still use condoms on a regular basis, just because we didn’t today doesn’t have to mean anything.”

I smile, touched by his thoughtfulness, “Feels a lot better raw, don’t you think?”

“I mean, yeah, but I don’t want you to feel pressured.”

“Ellsworth, you couldn’t pressure me into something if you tried.”

Cody lets out an exasperated sigh, “Forget I said anything.”

I smile, deciding to cut the poor man a break, “I appreciate the concern.”

Falling into a comfortable silence, we clear the table and wash the dishes. This domestic part of our relationship feels so natural, so normal that it makes me wish we had more time for mundane moments like this.

“How did the meeting with USport go?” I ask the question as Cody passes me a clean plate to put away.

“It went better than I was expecting, actually.” His forearms plunge back into the soapy water and I take the moment to enjoy the view. This man should never wear a shirt in my presence.

“Will the team be getting an assistant coach for next year?”

He frowns, “I think so. There was talk of bringing back a graduated student, but nothing is confirmed.”

I tilt my head, “Isn’t that a good thing?”

He sighs, “Yes, it is. Even if it’s not a graduated student, chances are high that USport will fund an assistant coach for Taber.”

“So, the problem is…”

“I don’t know if I want to play lacrosse next year.”

I nearly drop the plate in my hands. Out of all the scenarios running through my head for the next three years, Cody not being part of the lacrosse team was not one of them.

Pulling the drain at the bottom of the sink, Cody leans back against the counter and looks at me, “It’s been a lot recently. Too much time and not enough results.”

I carefully place the plate in its cabinet before turning to face him, “Is this about us?”

“Partly.” Cody meets my stare before going on, “I’m burnt out, Stel. Getting my face bashed in last semester changed my perspective on priorities when it comes to lacrosse. Sooner or later, I’m going to take a hit and I might not be able to get back up again.”

I can only stare as he continues, “And I don’t want to see you once a week for the next three years. It’s not fair to you, it’s not fair to me, and it’s certainly not fair to the development of our relationship.”

“But won’t you miss it? That’s your team, Cody. Those are your players.”

“They are my players, and they are my team, but you are my future.” The raw look in his eyes is one I have never seen before.

“And that is more important than any team or tournament I could compete in.” Cody shakes his head, his eyes glistening, “This last week was terrible. All I could think about was seeing you, and then when I couldn’t be there for you today? I just about killed somebody.”

My heart clenches, adrenalin and fear cursing through my bloodstream.

“I don’t want you to give up something you love and then regret it down the road.”

“Don’t you get it? You are what I love. You are the only reason I ever want to wake up before 5AM every morning.”

I choke out a laugh, “Karen should be helping with that soon.”

Stepping towards me, Cody tucks a strand of hair behind my ear, “It doesn’t matter if we’re up at the crack of dawn every day for the rest of our lives. As long as we’re together, I’m happy.”

I lean into his touch, smiling against his hand, “It sounds like you’ve already made up your mind. Guess we’ll be seeing a lot of each other next fall, huh?”

“Next fall?” An eyebrow goes up, “You aren’t getting away from me that easily, O’Brien. I’m going to delegate some of my captain duties so I can ravish my girlfriend as much as possible.”

I smirk, “Not sure your back can handle any more ravishing.”

“Guess we’ll have to take turns on who gets to be sore.” Cody grins, grabbing my thighs and hauling me up against him. His shirt I’m wearing rides up in the process, making it obvious I’m already ready for him.

“Are we going to the bedroom this time?” I blink innocently as my legs wrap around his waist, ready to be carried to bed.

“Oh, no. There are a few more rooms you have yet to see.” Cody grins and starts walking us towards the office next door.