4. Courtney

COURTNEY

I sitat my brother"s patio table. We have finished our dinner and are just conversing. My mind is still reeling over the message I received today from Chad"s lawyer, and Zack"s offer to use his attorney.

"Do you guys have plans this Saturday night?" Zack asks Ryan and me.

"I have a date," Ryan answers.

"Nothing that I know of, once I"m off work. Why, what"s up?" I ask.

"Do you want to bring Jax to my game? I have ticket vouchers you could use," he offers.

"What time does the game start?"

"Seven, and usually they end around nine thirty or so."

"Jax, come here for a minute," I call out to my son.

He sets down the golf club he"s been playing with all evening and runs to the table we"re all sitting at. "Yes, Mommy?" He looks up at me with all the love in the world.

"Zack has invited us to come watch his hockey game this weekend. Is that something you"d like to go do?" I ask.

"Can I play with you?" he turns to Zack and asks.

Zack chuckles. "Sorry, buddy, not this time. But maybe we can get you out on the ice sometime. This is my job, and you have to be on the team to play in this game."

"Oh," Jax says, a little defeated.

"You don"t even know how to skate, buddy." I laugh. "I can"t even think of a time we"ve tried to go ice-skating."

"Ice-skating?" he asks.

"Here, watch this," Zack offers, and holds out his phone. He presses play on the video, and a hockey game comes up.

"Is that you?" Jax asks in amazement.

"Yep, I"m in the blue jersey with the number 14 on my back," Zack tells him.

"Wow!" Jax says as the players zoom all over the ice in the clip. "What happened?" he asks.

Zack turns the phone to look at the video, then turns it back so Jax can see. "I scored a goal," Zack tells him. "After we score, we all huddle together to celebrate, then go back to the bench to celebrate with the rest of our teammates."

"Can we go, Mommy?" Jax asks me, and I can tell he"s excited about the idea of going.

"You"re sure you have extra tickets? I don"t want to impose."

"I wouldn"t have offered if I didn"t," he says.

"Okay, what time do you suggest we get there with it starting at seven?" I ask.

"Doors open around five thirty, but you don"t need to be there that early. I have to go in around three thirty or four. Warm-ups start about six thirty. If you make it there by then, you can bring Jax down to the ice level and watch from the boards. I"ll make sure to toss in the friends-and-family pass so you can get to the restricted area just for friends and family. Then, I can come say hi quick while we warm up."

"We should be able to make it by then, no problem. I get off work at three on Saturday," I tell Zack, then turn to Ryan. "If you want to meet me at the Burger Shack at three, I can just take Jax straight home. That way, you have extra time before your date."

"I can do that. Maybe I"ll take him mini golfing before dropping him off to you," he says.

"That works for me, and I"m sure he"ll love it."

"I can drop off the ticket and passes tomorrow night, if that works for you. What time are you usually home from work?"

"Six thirty. Sometimes I get out a little bit earlier. It just depends on when the last kids in my room are picked up."

"Just shoot me a text when you get home, and I can swing by. Make sure to send your address, as well," Zack says. I don"t know why the idea of him knowing where I live sends a bolt of lust down my body, but it does.

"Sure thing." Hopefully, my body isn"t betraying me. Thoughts of my dream from this morning pop back in my mind, and I have to shake my head to get them out.

"You okay, Sis?" Ryan asks. "You"re turning bright red."

"Just a little hot flash. I think my dinner was a little on the spicy side, and it"s coming back to bite me." I try to blame the food.

Ryan gives me a skeptical look but doesn"t say anything further. Thankfully, I can feel the heat leaving my cheeks, so hopefully, that means the redness is also disappearing.

"We need to head home in about ten minutes. Can you start picking up your toys, please?" I ask Jax.

"Okay," he quickly agrees and runs off and does as asked. I lucked out with such a great kid. Not all moments are easy, but for the most part, things are easier now that we"re no longer living with Chad. The saddest part of us moving back is he"s only asked once about seeing Chad. Besides that one time, he hasn"t shown any signs of missing his dad, so the idea that Chad is trying to get custody of him is just a knife to the heart.

Jaxand I just got home from school and work. I have a roast in the crockpot, so dinner will be done soon.

"Why don"t you put your backpack away, then wash your hands for dinner while I plate up our food," I suggest.

"Yes, ma"am," he says, and I think his little ma"am is so dang cute. He"s picked it up at school, so other kids must be rubbing off on him.

As I"m plating our dinner, I remember I need to text Zack that we"re home and my address. Once again, that jolt of lust for him hits me, and I do my best to push it away, thankful I don"t have an audience this time.

Courtney

Hey, Jax and I are home. Just sitting down to eat some dinner. My address is 456 New Way Court, apartment 14.

Zack

I"ll head that way shortly. Did you have a good day? What about Jax?

Courtney

Good days all around. Just another long one. I"m tired and ready for bed.

I hit send before I think twice about talking about my bed with Zack.

Zack

GPS says I"m about fifteen minutes away. Does that work, or do you want me to hold off for a little bit?

Courtney

That"s fine. Drive safe, and I"ll see you soon.

I set my phone down and take our plates to the little table. I go back for our glasses, filling Jax"s up with milk and mine with lemonade from the fridge.

"Dinner"s ready," I call out to Jax. I can hear the water running in the bathroom, so he must be washing up like I asked.

"Ready, Momma," he calls out as he comes down the hall.

"I hope you"re hungry!" I tell him as I cut up the meat on his plate.

"Yep," he agrees as he climbs up on the chair. He grabs his fork and digs in. This is one of his favorite meals, so I always know it"s a good choice.

We chat about his day. His class had library, so he tells me all about the book the librarian read to them before they got some time to check out books. "I brought home a new book to read tonight!" he excitedly tells me.

"What one?" I ask.

His eyebrows pull together as he thinks hard. "I don"t remember the name," he says.

"That"s okay. We can both be surprised when it"s bedtime," I tell him as there"s a knock on the door.

"Who"s here?" he asks, looking over his shoulder toward the door.

"Zack is stopping by to bring us the hockey tickets to his game," I explain as I walk across the open floor space. I check the peephole to make sure it is Zack on the other side before I slide the lock and open the door.

"Hi," I greet him as he stands a good foot taller than me. "Come in." I step back and open the door all the way so Zack can step inside, and then close the door behind him.

"Smells good in here," he says, and waves to Jax.

"Are you hungry? We have plenty," I offer.

"I wouldn"t want to impose," he says, and I toss his words right back at him.

"I wouldn"t have offered if I didn"t have extra." I smirk up at him as he realizes what just happened.

"Touché." He chuckles. "If you"re sure, then yes, I"d love to stay and have some dinner."

I point at the table. "Go have a seat, and I"ll be over with a plate for you. What can I get you to drink?"

"I"m good with just water."

I step into the kitchen and grab another plate. I add a large portion of pot roast, along with two scoops of the veggies and potatoes, then ladle out some extra gravy and pour that on top. I grab a clean glass out of the cupboard and fill it most of the way with water. I snag some silverware from the drawer before carrying everything over to the table and setting it down in front of Zack.

"Dang, this looks even better than it smells. Thanks again," he says before digging into the food. The moan that slips from his lips with his first bite is like a direct wire to my core.

"Like it?" I ask, already knowing the answer.

"Best meal I"ve had in a long time. You"re a great cook," he compliments.

"I like to cook." I shrug. "But all I really did for this was dump it all in the crockpot and let it cook all day."

"It"s my favorite!" Jax says.

"I can see why," Zack says. "How was school?"

"Good, we got to go to the library." He tells him the same story he"s already told me.

I sit back and watch their interaction. They easily get along, and Zack actually sounds interested in what Jax has to say. Unlike when he"d try to tell Chad about his day or something that he was excited about. Don"t get me wrong, I can only hear about superheroes or his favorite game so many times before I zone out, but even just talking about his day wasn"t something Chad would do.

"Are you excited to come watch a hockey game?" Zack asks.

"Yes! Mommy let me watch videos last night. I like it when you hit the walls."

Zack chuckles. "So do most of the other people. If you come down by the ice for warm-ups, I can give you a puck to keep."

"Really?!" Jax's eyes light up.

"Yep," Zack tells him as he ruffles the top of his head, messing up his hair. "I should have brought you a jersey or shirt to wear. Maybe next time."

"That isn"t necessary," I interject.

"Sure, it is. You"ve got to represent the home team." Zack winks at me, and I swear my stomach does summersaults because of it.

We continue to visit, keeping the conversation light as we finish our food. Jax ended up with a second helping since he was so hungry.

"Go pick out your pajamas. It"s almost bath time," I tell Jax.

"Okay. Can we still read my new library book?" he asks.

"Of course, we can," I say.

"Alright, well, I should get out of here and let the two of you get back to your normal routine. Once I"m at the rink on Saturday and changed out of my suit, I don"t usually check my phone as it"s in my locker. I put a sticky note in the envelope with one of the front office workers names and phone number. They can help you if you have any issues. There is a parking pass, the two game tickets, and the friends-and-family passes so you can come down by the ice. When you get inside the rink, just go to the VIP elevators and show them the passes. They"ll direct you where to go," Zack explains.

"Thank you so much. I"m sure we"ll figure it all out and enjoy watching you play," I say before I lean over and press a kiss to his cheek. I pull back immediately. I have no idea where showing that kind of affection came from, but my cheeks instantly heat in embarrassment.

"My pleasure," Zack says. His voice sounds husky, or am I just hearing things? The way he cups my cheek makes me realize I didn"t hear things. "Have a good night, Court. I"ll see you Saturday." He pushes back from the table and heads for the door. I watch as he opens it, but hesitates for a second, looking back at me before he pushes forward and walks out the door, pulling the door closed behind him. It opens just a second later, and Zack pops his head back in. "Make sure you lock up."

"I will." I get up and make my way over to the door. He closes it again, and as soon as I reach it, I flip the deadbolt.

"Good girl," he says through the door. That grumbly, deep voice does things to me, but I shake it off and go about my night, getting Jax ready for bed, reading his new book from school, and tucking him in.

Once he"s asleep, I head for the kitchen and clean up from dinner. I pack up the leftovers into a few containers so I have lunch for work the next few days. Once the kitchen is clean, I check my menu on the fridge and pull out the chicken from the freezer, placing it in the fridge so it can start to defrost for tomorrow.

I shut off the lights and head into my bedroom. I"m tired but need a relaxing bath before I crawl into bed for some much-needed sleep.

I get the water to the right temp before closing the stopper so the tub fills. I add a scoop of my favorite lavender bath salts to the water. As I undress, Zack"s words come back to me, and I can"t help but think of him saying them in a bit more intimate situation and not through the door. I grab my iPad from my nightstand and my vibrator from the drawer where I have it hidden out of view.

I sink into the water, the heat instantly relaxing my tired muscles. I slide until I"m chin deep in the water, and rest my head back on the bath pillow. I take a few deep breaths, calming myself as the aromas of the salts take effect. After a few minutes of breathing, I tap on my iPad and pull up the Netflix app, but close it and open an incognito browser to search for porn. I can feel myself going red with embarrassment. I don"t usually enjoy watching porn, but I"m desperate for a release. A popular website pops up, and I scan the page for something that looks like it might be enjoyable.

I finally decide on one, and my eyes go big when the screen fills with the video. Watching the guy on my screen go down on the girl has me imagining Zack as the guy and me as the woman, spread out on his bed. I grab my vibrator and click it on, then slip it beneath the water and down to my center. I slide it inside, the vibrations already causing my body to react from the simplest of touches. I click the button, and the clit portion comes to life and just about sends me over the edge as it flicks my clit.

I keep my eyes on the screen as I slide the vibrator in and out of my pussy. I can feel myself clenching around the silicone, so I click the button again, increasing the vibrations, and that"s all it takes for me to crest over the edge. I"m coming, and the only person on my mind is Zack.