23. Jesse

JESSE

"Ready for your last game?"I asked Maddie as she scarfed down a waffle.

"Yep," she murmured as she swallowed the last bite. "Emily said that we get trophies today. Even though we didn't win anything since there's no champion." She shrugged and gulped down the rest of her orange juice.

"You finished your first season of soccer. That's still something. And your first sports trophy." I scooped up my empty cup of coffee and set it in the sink. "Your uncle had to wait until senior year to get one of those."

"You have a trophy. Where is it?" She peered up at me with a scrunched nose.

"Grams wanted to hold on to it. And I think Grandpa liked having one kid sort of win a sports award, so I let them keep it."

She giggled at my wink.

"I bet Emily has a lot of trophies."

"So many." Maddie's jaw went slack as her eyes widened. "Medals too. Her room was nothing but a sea of silver and gold." I bent down to kiss the top of her head. "I wish I could get you up for school two hours earlier than you're supposed to be like you are before a game."

"Soccer is fun. Easier to get up."

"I'm sure." I nodded, letting go of a yawn.

"Why are you so tired lately?" Maddie stood and examined my face. "Are you feeling okay?

"Fine, kiddo. Just a long couple of weeks at work."

"Are you sure?" She pressed her hands against my cheeks and pulled my face closer to hers.

"I am fine." I kissed her forehead. "I just need some sleep, that's all." I motioned to the living room. "You can play a little Super Mario before you have to get ready."

Maddie scrutinized me for a minute before she scurried away from the table and settled in front of the TV. I really was exhausted, but not from work. I wasn't used to long nights of amazing sex with the girl of my dreams. It had been a long buildup, and every night, we'd say we'd give it a rest, and we'd still end up not getting to sleep until two a.m. or later.

It was a great problem to have, except when I trudged through the first few hours of my day like a zombie.

I headed upstairs while Maddie was engrossed to get an extra hour of sleep. The soccer field wasn't the place to show up tired, even if it was the last game. Emily had stayed over almost every night for the past two weeks, only stopping at her place to work and pick up more clothes to bring here.

I should have been more worried about Maddie becoming too used to Emily being here, but I didn't want to waste any more time now that I finally had her back. As her therapist had once suggested, I wouldn't bring anyone around my niece whom I didn't plan on keeping in my life, and there was no way I'd let Emily go again.

When the shower squeaked on as I made my way up the stairs, an idea came to me. I descended back a couple of steps to make sure the Super Mario theme was still playing and raced toward the bathroom, locking the door behind me once I slipped inside.

"Jesse?" Emily peeked her head out from the shower curtain, wiping her face. "What's wrong?"

"I figured we'd save time and shower together." I peeled off my T-shirt and shorts and stepped inside.

"You think that's going to save time?" She crossed her arms over her full, wet breasts and tried to glare at me as her eyes traveled down my body.

"That's why we have to be efficient."

My shower was regular size but not big enough for two people. I pinned her against the wall, running my nose up and down her neck. Her lean curves were already slick with soap as I skimmed my hand down her thigh.

"These fucking legs," I growled as I grabbed her calf and hooked her leg over my hip.

"Your niece is awake." Her low whimper echoed off the steamy walls as I dragged openmouthed kisses along her collarbone.

"She's playing video games, and the door is locked." I cupped the nape of her neck. "I think you're wasting too much time talking when you could use that gorgeous mouth for better things."

Our mouths fused together, our moans drowned out by the running water as Emily grabbed my hand and brought it between her legs.

"That's a good girl. Always so wet." There was just enough room for me to drop to my knees and bury my head in her pussy. I sucked her clit right into my mouth, twisting my fingers inside her to hit all the right spots for her to come fast and hard on my tongue. We were ravenous for each other, even worse than our teenage days—or better, depending on how you looked at it.

Because there was no end. No curfew, no impending departure. I finally had my girl back for good. Life was sweet as hell, and I couldn't get enough of it.

I gazed up at Emily, grasping on to the towel bar with her hand over her eyes.

"Hey." I swatted her hip. "Eyes on me when I'm making you come."

She bent forward, digging her nails into my shoulders as her legs shook against my face.

"That's my girl," I rasped as I kissed up her leg.

"You're crazy," she whispered, taking my dick in her hand when I stood, holding my gaze as she pumped up and down. The corner of her mouth turned up when she stopped, squirting body wash into her palm, and glided her hand along my length.

"Eyes on me," she whispered as she sucked on my bottom lip, letting it go with a nibble as she pumped faster.

"That's it," I breathed out, clenching my jaw so I wouldn't scream as she worked me over from root to tip. She cupped my balls, clasping a hand over my mouth when I let go of a loud groan. I came in long spurts against the tile, pressing my hand against the wall as I buried my head in the crook of Emily's neck.

"I came in here on a whim," I panted out. "I don't have any condoms in here, but I don't know a good place to keep them."

Emily laughed as she grabbed the showerhead and rinsed both of us off.

"Anyone ever tell you that you're an animal?" She shook her head as she hung the showerhead back on the hook.

"I've never really been an animal until now." I kissed her cheek. "Sorry if I want to enjoy it. Ready for your last game?"

"Well, last game of the season. I'm excited to give the kids their trophies."

I stepped out of the shower and held out a hand.

"Such a gentleman." She smiled and slid her wet palm against mine.

"I figured your legs might still be a little shaky." I grabbed the towel off the rack behind me and wrapped it around her, pulling her in for a quick kiss. "Do you really want to do this again? Deal with other people's kids for two days a week?"

"Why not? The kids are cute, most of the time. I get to enjoy soccer, get out on a weekend." She took the towel from my hands and turned away from me. "It's fun for me, believe it or not."

Her smile faded as something flashed across her face.

"What's wrong?" I asked as I plucked the other towel from the lower rack and wrapped it around my waist.

She shook her head. "Did it seem like anything was wrong before?" She batted her eyelashes as she cinched the towel around her.

"No, everything seemed very right then." I jutted my chin to the empty shower and leaned on the inside of the door. "But I thought I saw something on your face." I reached out to cup her cheek. "Maybe I'm just staring at you too much."

She slipped the clip out of her hair and let the brown waves billow around her shoulders.

"Do you remember when I said I broke my engagement because he didn't want kids?"

"I do. Why is that bothering you now?"

Her shoulders drooped as she adjusted the towel.

"I'd been thinking of having kids on my own. I finally went to a fertility clinic for some tests just to see what my options were." She fixed her gaze on the porcelain of the sink. "Long story short, they didn't tell me it was impossible, but they gave me the impression from what the tests showed that it wouldn't be easy for me. I don't know if that was always the case or if the potential complications were because I waited too long."

She brought her gaze back to mine and lifted a shoulder.

"I didn't tell anyone I was going or even thinking about it, so no one knows what the results were. Well, now, no one but you. I was a little disappointed, of course, but that's life, right?"

I nodded, smoothing my hand up her back and squeezing the nape of her neck.

"I wasn't sure if I wanted to coach or even how when Penny asked me, but I was a little excited for it. Once I started doing it, I found that I liked being with kids. Even if they aren't mine, like the ones on my team and Maddie. It's soothing in a way I can't explain. Plus, soccer without the intense competition takes me back to a simpler time, which is nice too." Her chest deflated on a long sigh. "It sounds silly, and I don't know why I'm telling you all of this."

"It doesn't sound silly at all. Do I have to bring up how Tessa and I used to fight over you? Kids love you. And most adults too."

"Oh yeah, everyone loves me." Her shoulders jerked with a chuckle. "I think you're just biased." She glowered at me before she opened the medicine cabinet.

"Because I love you? Definitely." I came up behind her, wrapping my arms around her waist and holding her gaze in the mirror. "But people of all ages adore you. And maybe it's too soon to bring something like that up, but I've recently learned that the almost impossible sometimes happens. If that's a dream you still have, you, or we, can cross that bridge when you're ready to get to it."

"I didn't know you were so philosophical in your old age," Her eyes were glossy as her mouth curved.

"That's mostly because the dream I've had for a couple of decades recently came true." I kissed her shoulder. "Makes an older guy very optimistic."

I cupped her chin when I noticed it quiver in the mirror.

"Why are you both in the bathroom?"

Emily's head whipped to mine at the sound of Maddie's voice coming through the door.

"I told you," she mouthed to me.

I held up a hand.

"I had to fix the showerhead for Emily. It was leaking again."

"The showerhead leaks? I thought it just dripped from using it." I cringed when she jiggled the doorknob.

"That too." I cupped my forehead as a familiar headache came on. My niece was so much like her mother, catching me at all the wrong times and asking questions too smart for me to be able to explain with my pants down—or off, as they were in this case.

"We'll be right out, Mad. Use the bathroom downstairs if you need it."

"Okay." Emily and I shared a silent laugh at her slow reply. I imagined her face twisted up in confusion on the other side of the door.

"It's like déjà vu, right?"

"It is." I let my head fall against the door with a soft thump. "The only difference is that I'm not as worried she's going to run to tell my parents about my locked door."

Emily laughed, inching closer to me. She drifted her hand down my damp chest and pressed a slow, sensual kiss to my lips.

"Now, get out so I can get ready."

"Anything you say, Coach," I said, skating my hand up her thigh to squeeze her bare ass.

I gave her one last glance before I left the bathroom, rushing to my bedroom to hide the towel tent rising below my waist from that last kiss.

Maybe it was too soon to think of a future with Emily, but as far as I was concerned, too soon didn't count when it came to something I'd wanted for most of my life.