Page 41 of Sideline Sweetheart
I fight the grin wanting to appear. “Is that so?”
“Oh yeah,” he says pushing the tip of his cock inside me, making me gasp. “I love you Mackenzie Flynn, and I don’t intend to give anyone else the chance to steal you away from me.”
My hand cups his cheek as tears spring to my eyes. “Oh, Bryce, I love you, too.”
Bryce pushes fully into me before capturing my mouth with his. He takes his time making love to me, keeping the rhythm slow and steady until we are both ready to fall over the edge into bliss. He gently breaks our connection, walks to the bathroom and returns with a warm cloth to clean me up. He tosses the washcloth on the bedside table and climbs back into bed.
He draws me into his side and kisses the top of my head. “Sleep now, beautiful.”
In the weeksafter returning from Colorado Springs, the Generals hosted the Columbus Jaguars and the Indianapolis Legends and then began preparing for a road game against the Midland Mavericks.
On Monday afternoon, Bryce sauntered into my office, rounded my desk and kissed me. My eyes flutter open as Bryce drew away slowly before kissing me softly again.
“Quite the greeting there, mister Coban. To what do I owe the pleasure,” I tease as I close my laptop and swivel my chair in his direction.
“Mmm,” he hums in response piquing my curiosity to his visit. “As you know, we are flying out to Midland on Friday.”
“Yes, Sylvia sent out the email this morning asking if there were any special accommodations she needed to make.”
“Right,” he says standing and moving to sit in one of the chairs in front of my desk.
As I watch him, I realize I’m seeing something from Bryce he rarely exhibits. Nervousness. On the field he exudes confidence, focused and ready to receive the ball and score for his team. But here, in my office, I see a completely different person than the world sees on the field. With me, he’s vulnerable, considerate and loving, all qualities needed to form a relationship worth pursuing. It’s an observation I keep to myself as I wait for him to continue.
“I do have one accommodation I’d like to request, but I wanted to speak to you first.”
“Okay,” I say drawing out the word while resting my arms on my desk.
Bryce clears his throat. “I’d like to tell Sylvia we’ll be sharing a room from now on while on the road.”
“Would you?” I reply as I push my chair away from the desk, stand and walk around to where he’s seated. Bryce straightens in his seat as I approach. “Is there anything else?”
“One more thing,” he says as I take a seat on his lap, and he nuzzles into my neck kissing me on the soft spot below my ear. “I’d love it if you officially moved in with me.”
My fingers thread into the hair at the nape of his neck. “I still have almost six months left on my lease.”
Bryce laughs. “You think I give a damn about your lease?”
His hand cups my cheek, and I sigh as his thumb begins caressing me softly. “No, I’m sure you don’t. I don’t either, because I’d much rather live with you.”
He rests his forehead against mine. “I’m glad to hear that.” He kisses me again and says, “I should get going.”
I climb off his lap and watch as he walks to the door. He opens it and turns back to me. “What should I tell Sylvia?”
I grin as I reply, “Tell her we’ll share a room when the team travels.”
His smile is wide and instant. “Great. Love you, see you tonight.”
“Love you, too,” I say as he walks out of my office. I laugh as I hear him begin to whistle and then return to my desk to finish my notes.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Bryce
Mackenzie officially movedinto my place during our bye week, and the team proceeded to win the next eight games, aligning us to take first place in our division. I teased her mercilessly about being our good luck charm.
Mackenzie’s birthday happened to fall on our last away game of the season. As a surprise, I flew both my parents and Mackenzie’s into Daytona for the game and made reservations for dinner. The surprise on Mackenzie’s face will forever be etched in my memory as the hostess led us to our table where our parents were already seated. Happy tears filled her eyes as she embraced first her parents and then mine. It was then I knew without a doubt I wanted this woman in my life for as long as she would have me, and I hoped it would be forever.
Winning our division put us on the path to the playoffs. Eliminating those last two opponents gave us home field advantage for the championship game. Now as we file into the tunnel, our coaching staff line up giving us high-fives and pats on the shoulder, back or helmet. The excitement is palpableas Coach Blakely holds his arms out across the tunnel trying to corral us. Surrounded by my teammates, we are literally bouncing ready to make our entrance. The announcer’s voice is slightly muffled as he rattles off our stats from the season reminding the fans filling the stadium how we got here.
