I made him drain his glass of champagne after he finished his story. Gave him a kiss so deep I wanted to tear our clothes off right there in the kitchen. His cheeks had already burned red and his dance moves to the music still piping in from the living room took on a new direction.
Only one glass and he’s gone, I thought as I poured him another.
The caponata was done by the time we finished our second glass, but Rome insisted we let it sit for an hour before digging in. My stomach already rumbled and he provided a distraction by pulling me by the hand into his living room and bringing the bottle of champagne with us.
“At this rate, we’ll need a second bottle,” I told him as he topped off our glasses. “But you have a game tomorrow.”
He grinned at me. “There’s a second bottle in the fridge. As long as I drink enough water, I should be okay.”
We sat together on the couch. He in his spot, in the corner, and me beside him. “Twobottles of champagne? You lush.”
“You should see me with wine during the offseason.” He said that genuinely and I gave him a curious look. He told me, “Hey, I’m not a teetotaler just because I don’t drink a lot when I’m playing.”
“Maybe I need toteetotala little bit more. Been drinking too much this past week.”
Rome shifted and craned an arm to fit around my shoulders. “Yeah? I’m sorry to hear that.”
I only needed three seconds to decide on what to say.
“He showed up at my place,” I said in a careful and quiet voice. “It turned aggressive pretty quickly. He didn’t hit me, but… yeah. I’ve been spending the past week with my brother at his place.” I looked up and over at Rome. “That’s why I wanted to come here. I’m not sure how safe my place is.”
Rome’s face remained neutral but I could see something stirring behind his eyes like a shark in the deep. “So that means you spoke to him in person? Talked to him about how you were feeling?”
I looked away and observed the bubbles lifting in my flute of champagne. “Yes. It did not go as planned. I made it clear that he needed to stay away from me and he didn’t like hearing that.”
“Did you block him?”
I nodded. “I did. But he’s been using different numbers to harass me. Not sure how. He even uses different emails. It’s hard to keep up. Every day is a new message.”
“You came here from your brother’s?” I nodded again. He squeezed me into him as if the pressure between us couldbe used as a shield. “What about your equipment? And your shoots?”
“I have my laptop at my brother’s. It’s easier to work with a monitor and mouse, but I’m making do. He came with me to pick up most of the stuff I need.”
Rome kissed the side of my head and kept his lips there. “Stay here. If you want, that is. You have the code to the gate. I can tell Hiroshi. If you’re getting in your brother’s hair, you are more than welcome to use my house as a home base. I’m gone most of the day anyway.”
“Are you sure?” I said before I could think better of it. I had only known this man a month, yet I already felt complete comfort around him. “I’d hate to impose.”
“You kidding me? This is the opposite of imposing. Besides…” He pulled his arm away as he fished into his pocket for his phone. A couple of selections later, we were both staring at his calendar. “Tomorrow and the twenty-ninth we have home games.” His finger ran along the entirety of the following week. “Alllllthese days I’m traveling, so I won’t be here. The place is all yours.”
He’d come home on the sixth. That gave us two days together before he flew out.
Could I do that? Only a month ago I stared at Number Sixteen handing off sports paraphernalia to a cancer patient in the crowd. And now I felt complete safety and comfortlivingwith him?
Rome took note of my contemplative silence. “I’m sorry. I’m being too forward again and making you uncomfor—”
“I’ll stay,” I said, then pushed his phone away and planted a tender kiss on his lips. “I will absolutely stay.”
“Really?” he asked through a smile, our lips still touching.
I crawled into his lap to really send the message home. “Really-really.”
His kisses were filled with hope. He moved hungrily, almost greedily, as his hands gripped my sides, the ferocity of his breathing through flared nostrils. A week of not touching, an hour of dancing around subjects we didn’t want to discuss. The champagne propelled us further into our pleasure. I wanted to grab the second bottle and make him sip from it, but I didn’t have the desire to pull away from him for more than a second.
My hunger grew when we tipped past the point of casual kissing to intentional passion. I leaned back for only a blink to peel off my t-shirt. Rome had his off at the same time. I arched my back, ass flexed out with my shoulders, as he tugged at the small of my back to put his lips on my chest. His tongue traced circles, lips making impressions, mouth running around my nipples. I gasped in ecstasy and pulled his head deeper into my body. I let out a low, languid curse, as if it could summon more sexual energy.
Then, he gently but firmly pushed me away and off of him as he made to stand up. “Bedroom,” he said in a quick, breathy voice.
I had been half standing but dropped to my knees. “No. Not enough time.” I suddenly yanked down on his shorts as his massive cock sprang free. Caught by surprise, I pushed back on his waistline until the backs of his legs caught on the couch and he crashed back onto it, naked and beautiful. His eyes were wide. Fuck if he didn’t look like perfection. Athletic build, taller than a skyscraper, cock as hard as steel, looking down on me on my knees.
