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R emi started the shower for her and Max, and piece by piece their clothing fell to the floor. The remnants of their day would be washed away down the drain.

She stepped into the shower first, holding out her hand to welcome Max to join her. It was a tight fit, but she didn't care. She wanted to be close to him. She needed to be close to him. The hot spray pushed his perfectly styled red hair back on his head, and she never knew someone could be so beautiful when wet.

Reaching for the bar of soap, she began to lather it in her hands. “Let me,” he said, taking it from her, working it between his calloused palms.

Remi tilted her head back in the small space as he brought his soap-covered hands to her neck, lathering her skin while he pressed firm fingers against her sore muscles. Trailing his fingers down her breastbone, he stopped to lather soap over her sensitive nipples. As he ran the suds on his fingertips under her arms, she slowly began to lift them above her head, making room for him to wash everything away. His hands moved up her body, from the heaviness of her ass to the very tips of her fingers, and then back down, making her giggle as his knuckles slid across her more sensitive parts.

As the spray from the shower washed away the soap, Max lathered his hands again, this time bringing them to cover her back, stopping to admire the shape of her body, her ass, her thighs, and the soft smooth skin between her legs.

“Give it here,” Remi said, taking the soap from him. “Let me get you now.” She turned Max’s body to face away from her and reached around him in a hug, washing him from behind. Her hands swept over his defined abs, brushing over the soft trail of red chest hair that led to his already hard length. Sliding her soap-covered hand over him, she gave him a long, slow stroke. His hand met hers there and encouraged her to keep going. Gripping her hand with his they began to stroke him with slow and sure movements.

She let her hand glide over his length with the help of his still wrapped around hers, the soap easing the movement while her head lay against his back. As she brought him closer to orgasm, she could feel his muscles begin to tighten against her face. Max, pulling his hand away from hers, turned back to face her, pressing his erection against her lower belly. She lathered her hands with soap again and brought them back to finish what she had started. Pushing her hands between their bodies, she stroked him with a firm touch. The thickness of his erection made her ache to feel him inside her.

“Rem,” he moaned, the water dripping from his beard. His eyes closed as his head fell forward while she stroked him quicker, her hands gripping him tight.

“ Come ,” she said, and it wasn't an offer, it was a demand. She wanted to watch as his beautiful pink cock spilled his release.

Max’s body fell back against the cool shower tiles as he came in Remi’s small hands. His eyes closed tight, and every muscle in his beautiful body was on display, the tally marks on his ribs contracting with each of his heavy sighs. This , she thought, was not a loss. This kind of comfort, this kind of intimacy. The act of cleaning one off, only to make a mess again. It felt like a win.

Right now, this tiny shower stall was their sanctuary. Together they had entered this porcelain alter dirty, and together they would leave cleansed of their day’s iniquities naked and alive.

***

Max settled into Remi’s full bed for the night, appreciating the way the size of it made their bodies instantly draw close together with no room to move away. Their warm, naked skin from the shower was cooled by the inviting pale green sheets and lightweight blanket.

“Do you want to talk about the game?” Remi asked, her head on his chest, her fingers tracing over the fine black lines on his ribs.

“We lost.” It was all he said because it was hard to focus on anything else with her legs tangled around his and the idea that all he had to do was pull her body onto his to slip between her thighs.

“Well, yeah . I know that part. But do you want to talk about it?” she pressed.

Max let out a heavy sigh. He knew talking about the loss would help, but that didn't make it easy to do. He had promised her he would open up and stop taking the easy way out of these hard conversations, and he would keep his word.

“We lost, and it was equal parts my —” He still wasn't sure what he was calling it, so he landed on, “My eye issue, and equal parts anxiety. The lights came up, and I knew we needed the two points. In the back of my head, I knew Brown should have had the start, because my morning skate was bad, Remi, like, really fucking bad. The mix of my vision failing, and the fucking guilt I get when I take the start; I was fighting a battle against my vision and my nerves and the pressure to win. Not to mention the night before, I told Brown what was going on with me. So, I had that going on too. It was just a lot to carry.”

Remi sat up on her elbow to look at him. “You told Brown?”

“Yeah, I told him about what's going on,” he said again.

“Do you think he’ll tell your coach?”

“No. But, Rem, I’m going to have to talk eventually. I can’t keep playing like this, the weight of it is too heavy. I feel like my chest is caving in 99 percent of the time I'm on the ice.”

“So, what’s your game plan?”

“I want to play through January if I can. And then, I’ll see the team doctor.”

Remi leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss right over his heart.

“That’s a good plan.”

“Yeah?” he asked.

“Yeah, it’s—” she said, pausing for effect, and smiling before finishing, “purrrrfect.”

Max pulled her up to his mouth and kissed her, their lips starting slow with soft pulls and teasing caresses, their tongues delicately meeting. Her body pushed closer to his, causing the heat of their want for each other to warm their skin, both of them knowing exactly where this would lead.

Max broke the kiss and looked down at her, her eyes somehow managing to be a vibrant shade of blue, even in the darkness of her room. “Remi,” he said, “I know I’m not great at saying what I’m feeling,”

“Then let me say it first,” she offered, the smile on her face knowing, if not a little cocky.

“Okay, say it then,” he challenged, opting for the easy way out, curiosity getting the better of him.

“Max Miller,” she said.

“Yes?”

“ You are in love with me.”

They both burst out laughing. The kind of laugh that starts in your stomach and rolls its way up to your throat in a punishing burst of joy.

He brought his finger up to her nose. “Ding-ding-ding,” he said with each pressing boop.

“And?” she asked.

“Well, I think you might love me too?” he asked.

“You think?” she said sitting up to straddle him, pushing his massive arms above his head. “You think ?”

Max loved her power, her confidence, and her ability to lay him out below her and have her way.

“Ok, I don’t think .” He paused, before taking a deep breath and announcing with certainty, “Remi Davis, you are in love with me.”

“You’re damn right I am,” she said, leaning in to kiss him the way two people kissed when they had just admitted their love for one another. The kind of kiss that left lips swollen, necks covered in purple marks of passion, and fingerprints on wrists, hips, and thighs in the act of being too rough, too excited, leaving no room for second guesses.

It was Remi lowering herself onto him.

It was Max letting her be in control.

It was Remi rolling her hips against his body as she held his arms in place.

It was Max submitting to the woman he loved, to show her that he would, while also needing her to know that he could be in charge too.

He flipped her over in one swift movement, using the weight of his body to thrust deep inside of her. Pulling her legs up with a punishing grip on her ankles, he spread her wide open as he pumped into her with no refrain. Remi braced her hands on the headboard as he fucked her good and hard.

The sounds in the room were raw. Skin slapping against skin. Uncontrolled breathing. Heavy moans. Mumbled words: right there, oh fuck, Max, Max, Max.

With one final push, Remi called out his name, her body trembling around him, her fists clenched tight as he came deep inside her.