Page 15

CHAPTER 15

Allie

January

I rolled over in bed and picked up my phone to see what time it was. The sun had just barely peeked in through the curtains of my hotel room, and my phone said it wasn’t even six in the morning here in London, but I knew I wouldn’t go back to sleep despite the long day ahead. I would have to caffeinate and hope for the best.

Teddy would be here very soon. I smiled as I unlocked my phone and went right to his message. He and the whole crew of friends were coming on my second plane and would arrive any minute. I had other messages, which I assumed were from the girls, but I needed a moment to daydream about Teddy’s.

I cannot wait to kiss your face (and many other things). We will land in about an hour, I think .

He’d sent the message about an hour ago. I snuggled down into the comforter and kicked my feet. I loved this man so damn much. Did I ever feel this way with Josiah? With anyone? It was hard to remember anything before Teddy, and honestly I didn’t want to. None of that mattered anymore.

I touched my fingers to my lips, in disbelief that I would actually see him soon and get to feel his lips on mine and touch his beard with my fingertips. Since I spent two days with him at Christmas, it had felt like the longest month of my life. We hadn’t left his house for those two days, spending the days in his bed, drinking coffee around the Christmas tree, talking until all hours, and exchanging gifts. He had gotten me the most beautiful diamond bracelet and matching earrings that I planned to wear at my show tonight, and I had gotten him a new set of cutlery that was apparently the best brand for chefs. He had loved them and kissed me a hundred times for them, so I guessed I got it right. He then used them to make me the best meal of my life, and I was convinced the man really was perfect.

Since we’d expressed our love for each other, our relationship was on another level. We just got each other in a way I knew I never had before. We talked about real things and consulted each other on decisions and made plans for the near and far future that involved each other. I wasn’t afraid to talk about something beyond the next week or two because Teddy was unbothered by everything surrounding us.

How did he handle a guy parked outside of his house with a long lens? Waving to him. What did he do when asked incessant questions about me during his football interviews? Answered them honestly but cryptically, with an adorable smile on his face. What did he think about the press running stories of us getting engaged? He kissed me and told me he loved me. How did he feel about the press unearthing the story with his ex and using it as a reason to say we wouldn’t last? He had me remind him just how hot we were together.

After seeing me at the Christmas game and realizing this wasn’t a fluke that we were together, the press started to speculate about a ring for Christmas. When that didn’t happen, they shifted to him getting on the stage of my concert in London during my song “Lovestruck.” If not then, they said it would be after the championship on the field. It was hysterical how quickly they tried to marry me off after dragging me through the mud about Josiah just months ago. There was some conversation about it being too soon and to take the pressure off us, but the stories wouldn’t stop. They were ready for him to drop to a knee and propose in a public place.

Believe it or not, we did talk about this, not because I was ready for that at all or thought he was planning it, but because people were so convinced that this would be the best fairy-tale ending to our real-life rom-com playing out for the world to see. However, this sounded like nothing but a nightmare for me, and I told him just that, not that he needed me to.

When we had the conversation, the look of horror on his face told me that he would’ve never done that to me anyway. I lived my whole life as a public spectacle, and it was bad enough that they watched every single part of our relationship. I definitely did not ever want a public proposal. I should’ve known that Teddy knew me better than that, even without me having to say a word. I had never been more in tune with a person in my entire life.

The story of the little girl and her family that I met after Teddy’s Christmas game also ran a few-week cycle all over social media and national news. That at least was a cute story, but the main topic was not that I stopped to sign a poster for a kid or take a picture with her, but that Teddy was in the picture with me with his arm around my shoulders and my arm around his waist. There were conversations about our body language. How long we had really known each other. If I cheated on Josiah with him and whether that was what ended us. What I wore, and if Teddy had gotten me any of it. And how we would spend our first Christmas together.

Then there were photos that the mom shared of Teddy watching me talking to the little girl Eliza. I knew exactly what that look on his face was the second I saw it. The public did, too. It fueled the rumors of marriage and babies for sure. It gave me butterflies in my stomach when I thought of it, but I also hated the instant assumption that we would get married or have kids. It wasn’t that I didn’t want all of that—I just didn’t want it to be the expectation that I did it. When Teddy saw the picture, he told me it made him feel he wanted things he hadn’t thought much about in years and that he loved seeing me with kids. He apologized for the drama it caused in the press, but how could I be mad about him looking at me like I was his entire future?

Eliza’s mom was even invited on national morning shows to talk about meeting us. She was sweet and I loved seeing it, but it definitely kept the rumors circulating even more. I loved all my fans, but there was something about the kids that really got to me. I loved seeing them as much as I could.

Tonight was my first show out of four in a row in London. I got here a few days ago to rehearse and acclimate to the time change, though I lived in a perpetual state of, Where in the hell am I? Teddy and the crew would enjoy a few days in London, sightseeing and being tourists. I sadly could not do that because it would only cause a scene. Teddy mentioned staying back with me, which I felt bad about, but I wouldn’t stop him only because I missed him so much. But he’d never been to London, so I wanted him to have fun while he was here and go see all the tourist things.

With his week off between playoffs, the media speculated that he would come, but of course there was no confirmation. However, the press would be extra ruthless once they saw him and the rest of the players and girls. I also knew my plane was probably tracked, so it would be amazing if they made it here without fanfare.

I texted Teddy back that I couldn’t wait to see him, and he immediately responded: Juan just picked us up a few minutes ago. We are en route to you. He says about thirty minutes. Be ready. I need you as much as I need a giant breakfast.

I grinned at my phone screen. I would order us food once he was here, but I knew what he wanted first because I wanted the same. I typed a message to Conor to order us food to be delivered in an hour, told Zoey that they all arrived and to arrange for transport for them later to the stadium, and then got up to make myself more presentable.

I looked at myself in the mirror and smiled. My eyes were bright despite being tired. Even with no makeup, my cheeks were flushed. I felt like I had a permanent smile on my face. I hummed one of the new songs I’d written for Teddy, one I hadn’t shared with him yet. I brushed my teeth, washed my face, and brushed through my blond curls. I wore an oversized T-shirt from my first sold-out stadium show, my teenage face staring back at me in the mirror.

“If only you knew then what was coming for you,” I said out loud. “Many years of the wrong ones. All to get here. You know that song you wrote, ‘The Only One,’ back when you were eighteen and heartbroken from who you thought was the love of your life? The one that would be one of your career-defining hits? Yeah. Now you know what those lyrics really mean.”

I laughed at my naive self, the teenager who thought she knew what love was because she was thrust into the real world so young. Instead, that teenager was stupid and fell for a guy who didn’t care about her at all. That stupid teenager had also given that man something she could never take back, and that had given her several years of regret.

I thought back to the songs I wrote with Josiah in mind and cringed. This was the downside to writing with your heart. You had to then reassociate them in your mind. It wasn’t the first time, but hopefully it would be the last. I thought of a few of the songs on my set list that were originally meant for him. I played them for the tour, but I basically disassociated while playing them. However, Teddy would be there tonight. This would be the first time he was invited as my boyfriend to my show, and I knew that all the attention would be on us because of it. Might as well make the most of it and show him just what he meant to me. An idea came to me and I ran for my phone, pulling up my voice memo and singing lyrics, melding two songs together and changing key lyrics.

“Yes,” I said to myself. “That’s it.” I walked around the room with my phone, singing. My brain whirled with the possibilities. I would have to talk to the band, give them the changes and updates, but they were used to me. Most of my band had been with me for the better part of my career, and my backup singers and dancers were as close as family to me. We were a well-oiled machine most of the time.

A knock sounded on my door, and I knew it was Rico based on the knock alone. It was the warning that he was about to open the door. But before he could open it, I flung it open. He stepped back quickly, surprised, but all I could see was Teddy. His giant frame filled the door. He wore a black tracksuit with the Blaze logo on it and carried a suitcase. His beard was neatly trimmed, and his eyes laser-focused on me.

He immediately stepped into the room and kicked the door shut. I squealed as he grabbed me and lifted me, crushing his body to mine as his luggage fell to the floor. I wrapped my body around his as he held me off the ground, burying his head in my neck.

“Thank you, Rico!” I called to the closed door, my giggles being silenced by the goosebumps taking over my body. Teddy walked us to the king-size bed visible in the open-concept room, his lips blazing a path from my neck to my lips and back again.

“I love you,” he said into my neck. “God, I missed you so much.” He lifted his head and looked at me, and I smiled, my heart skipping a beat at the look on his face. My body slid down his until my feet touched the ground, but we left no space between us.

“I love you,” I said, my hands on his face, the short hairs of his beard making me weak in the knees. “I have missed you so damn much. That was definitely too long. I need you, Teddy.” Our lips met in an urgent kiss, and talking ceased as our tongues took over. My shirt rode up as he gripped my waist, his hands setting my bare skin on fire. I felt him growing against my stomach as we kissed, our kisses more frantic than I could remember them since our first time. This may even be more so because we know how we feel about each other now.

He pulled back and lifted my shirt, leaving me in only a red thong. “Goddamn,” he said. “This body is fucking ridiculous. I can’t be slow with you right now, even though I want to taste every part of you. I just need you too fucking bad.”

“I need you just as bad,” I said. I unzipped his jacket, and he helped shrug it off his shoulders. Next to go was his T-shirt and shoes. I ran my hand down his chiseled chest until I got to the waistband of his pants. His dick was at attention and straining the material of his track pants. I slid them down, taking his boxer briefs with them, until we both stood naked in front of each other. I stepped back and put my hands on my hips, looping my thumbs into the string of my underwear. I turned around so he could see the thong up my ass and looked back over my shoulder. He sat on the edge of the bed, stroking his cock as he watched. I bit my lip and moaned at the sight. Fuck, this man was gorgeous.

I played with the strings of the underwear as he watched, captivated by my movements.

“That fucking ass is mine, Mallie. God, it is so beautiful. Turn around and take those off for me, angel.”

I turned and played with the straps again. His gaze went from my bare chest down to my small underwear.

“Take them off,” he said again, still stroking his cock.

I could watch that forever. I slid them down and kicked them to him. He grabbed them with his other hand and then fisted them around his cock. I slid my hand down my body to my clit and rubbed it, imagining it was his hand.

“I can’t,” Teddy said, standing up. “I can’t wait one more fucking second.” He walked us to the full-length mirror against the wall and stood me in front of it. He ran his hands down my body as he watched in the mirror. “I have dreamed of this body for too long.” He gripped my hips and tilted me slightly. “Put your hands on the mirror,” he said, his voice so low it made me shiver.

I didn’t hesitate, so turned on I could barely keep myself from trying to relieve it with my own hand. But I knew what was coming, so I forced myself to watch Teddy in the mirror. He stepped up behind me, and our eyes met in the glass.

“The most beautiful woman in the entire world,” he whispered. “And she’s mine. What the fuck did I do to deserve this?” He ran his hand along my ass and to my dripping-wet core.

I whimpered, pushing my ass back against him. He smiled at me with those fucking dimples and I groaned. He held my hip and slid himself inside me as we both watched in the mirror. He turned us slightly so I could see him sliding in and out. “Watch,” he said, his voice tight. He didn’t have to tell me to—I couldn’t tear my eyes away from him. “I can’t be slow,” he said.

“Fuck me,” I said in response. His eyes fluttered closed briefly as he gripped my hips, pushing himself harder inside me. I screamed his name and pushed back, taking him fully.

“Mallie,” he said. “Fuck, you’re made for me. This pussy is mine. You take my cock like such a good girl.”

The sounds of our fucking made my eyes roll up in my head. I leaned back against him, and he used one hand on my stomach to push me back harder onto him. I gasped, so full that it almost hurt, but I was too turned on to feel anything other than euphoria. Teddy kept one hand on my stomach, holding me on his cock, and covered my breast with the other, pinching and tweaking my nipple.

I writhed and panted, the sensations so much and not enough all at once. He slid his hand down my body and began playing with my clit.

“FUCK!” I yelled, the orgasm hitting me out of nowhere. Teddy didn’t let up, continuing his assault on my senses with his dick and his fingers. My knees buckled and he held me up.

“I’m not done with you yet, angel,” he said into my ear. “Look in that mirror and watch me fuck another orgasm out of you and then come inside that pretty pussy.”

Our eyes met in the mirror again and I panted as he pistoned himself inside me. My breasts bounced as he picked up the pace. This man—he knew exactly how to work my body to make me come undone over, over, and over again. The grip on my hips was so hard I may have bruises.

“That’s it,” he said, pulling my hips back even harder. “I feel you tightening on me. I am going to come so hard, but not until I feel you shudder on my cock again. I need your orgasm, angel. Give it to me.”

The way Teddy talked dirty to me just did it for me, and I felt it. Before him, I used to think multiple orgasms weren’t really a thing. Since him, there has never been a time when I didn’t have at least two. If I didn’t scream his name, my body going limp like a noodle, then he didn’t do his job.

“TEDDY!” I yelled. I felt him pulsing inside me as I careened over the cliff again, my body giving up with the exertion. He lifted me with one arm and placed me on the bed as he finished, still sliding himself in and out slowly as we came down together.

“The best fucking thing that has ever happened to me,” Teddy whispered, kissing my shoulder. “I love you, Mallie. My sweet angel.”