Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 73794 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 369(@200wpm)___ 295(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73794 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 369(@200wpm)___ 295(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
“Yes.” My mouth fell open on a silent moan as I bent forward and came all over my fist. My vision blurred and white noise whirred through my brain. Talk about a volcanic event. I wasn’t sure I’d ever erupted that much. The orgasm felt cleansing, which was a novel sensation, like it chased any lingering doubts or bad energy out, leaving only pleasure and clarity in its wake.
I was exactly where I was supposed to be. After quickly wiping my hand off on my discarded shirt, I rested my head on his thigh, as content as I could remember.
“Get up here.” He hauled me up next to him, arranging us so he was spooning me.
“Perfect.” I laced our hands together over my heart.
“Yeah, it is.” Tony chuckled into my hair. “You’re pretty perfect too.”
I wasn’t, but I also wasn’t going to argue with him in this, the sweetest of moments.
“Think this might work out,” I yawned sleepily.
“It damn well better,” Tony growled, then gentled his voice. “It will. Have faith, baby.”
Trust. So damn hard. So necessary. And oh, how I wanted to believe him. Believe in me. In us. And maybe that was the answer right there. There was an us, and I could pin all my hopes on that.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Tony
September came with a windstorm worth of firsts. It was my first autumn in Oregon in twenty years with my first boyfriend, the first day of school, my first meager payday for assistant coaching, and the lead-up to the first football game. All those new experiences crammed into a few weeks meant I barely had time to enjoy the cooler weather or said boyfriend.
As we wrapped up one of the last practices before the first home game of the season, my mind kept drifting to Caleb. He’d be getting off shift soon, and we had tentative plans to meet. The novelty of not needing to meet in secret still hadn’t worn off, and I contemplated asking Caleb if he wanted to go out to eat. The air smelled faintly of smoke as we were still in prime forest fire season, which meant more unpredictable shifts for Caleb. We should take advantage of him being off-call tonight, and going somewhere with menus and table service might be nice.
“Okay, time to pack it in,” I called out to the players who headed to the locker room. The parking lot had already started to fill with parents doing the after-practice pickup run.
“Hey, Coach Capo!” Elliot Stern’s giant bear of a father headed my way. Elliot, Cosmo’s friend and a key part of our defensive line, came from a long line of Oregon lumberjacks, each bigger and burlier than the last. Elliot’s other claim to fame was his impressive-for-a-teen beard, but his father’s salt-and-pepper beard put Elliot’s to shame, nearly touching the dad’s barrel chest. Don was a couple of years older than me, and even younger, Don had looked like he could snap tree trunks with his bare hands and had had the bar-fight rep to match. “Been meaning to catch you. It’s about what you said at the parent meeting.”
Here we go. So far, most of the parents had been supportive, but we’d had two unexpected withdrawals. Cosmo and the rest of the team would be crushed to lose Elliot, but I schooled my expression to stay neutral. “Oh?”
“Me and the wife, we want to say thank you.”
“Thank you?” I blinked.
“For being a good coach.” Don slowed his rate of speech like I might need some comprehension help. “Elliot’s been going on about you all damn summer.” Shaking his wide head, Don’s longish gray hair swished against his neck under his stained Seahawks ball cap. “I know there’s them who won’t understand, but plenty of us who see what you’re doing here. Good work. Me and Joann, we’ve got your back. And anyone wants to hassle you, you point them at me.”
“Thank you.” I nodded, hoping I didn’t look as stunned as I felt. “No one’s hassled me, but I appreciate the support.”
“Eh. I know my old rep. Can’t say as I’m proud of my twenties.” He offered a snaggle-toothed smile. “Few years back, I’d say I’ve got this cousin over in Safe Harbor, and that’s why I changed my thinking, but Joann and me got five teen boys now. Five.” He held up his hand like he was about to tick off their names. “Odds are… Well, doesn’t much matter what the math is, you know? That’s enough. I’m a dad. Just want my sons to grow up knowing we love them and that in our house, we respect our coaches and teachers no matter who they go home with.”
“I…I’m grateful to you and Joann both. You’re good parents.”
Don waved one of his skillet-sized hands. “Don’t be grateful. Just get us a win on Friday. Mount Hope’s waited a long time for another winning season, Capo.”