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thirty-seven

Cole

The January sun peeks through the curtains when I wake up.

I rub my eyes and collect myself before I realize what woke me up in the first place.

My girlfriend is looking up at me with her hand grasping my dick.

“Fuck…” I moan as she fists me, moving up and down my shaft.

“You were so hard when I woke up,” Rory says. “I just want to take care of you.”

Her tongue darts out, licking up the precum leaking out of the tip. I grab the back of her head, keeping her in place. “Anytime you want to wake me up with my cock in your mouth, do it. There’s no better way to start the day than with you sucking me off, baby girl.”

Rory licks up my shaft, and my eyes roll into the back of my head. “Then let me make you feel good, Daddy.”

She closes her mouth around me and swallows me down, letting the head of my cock graze the back of her throat. “Fuuuck, baby… I love watching you take me.”

She smiles around me, and the light glints off her deep brown eyes. Rory brings her hand up, wrapping it around the base of my shaft, stroking and twisting in tandem with each bob of her head. The only words in my vocabulary right now are unintelligible groans as she cups my balls with her other hand.

There’s nothing refined about this. There’s gagging. Spit. And a hell of a lot of moaning—mostly from me. It’s sloppy and so goddamn perfect.

It all spurs her on. I wrap her hair around my wrist, pulling tight as I start thrusting, meeting every one of her movements.

When Rory takes me to the back of her throat again and keeps me there while moaning around me, I fucking explode.

I come hard, spilling into her mouth and watching as she swallows my cum, moaning while she does.

Once she’s finished sucking the life out of me, she climbs back up the bed, sliding in right beside me, laying her head on my chest, and draping her arm over me.

“Fucking hell, Rory,” I breathe, trying to gather any semblance of composure. “That was… fuck.”

“So good you’re speechless, huh?” she teases, ghosting her fingertips up my chest.

I chuckle in return. “Apparently so.” I wrap my arms around her and kiss her forehead. “You’re fucking incredible, Rory girl.”

“Because I’m good at sucking your dick?”

“I mean, you’re fucking great at that, but no, that’s not why. You’re just an incredible person. I love getting to be here with you. Getting to have you like this. Getting to see sides of you that you share only with me. I know how fucking lucky I am, Starlight, and I’m not taking a single second with you for granted.”

Her smile is bright and happy, and I feel it all through my body. “Every time I think I can’t like you more, you say something like that. It’s like you want me to fall for you, Cole.”

I capture her lips with mine, kissing her tenderly. “Would that be so bad? Falling for your best friend’s brother?”

“No,” Rory says softly. “I don’t think that would be bad at all.”

I rest my forehead against hers, staring into her eyes and soaking in this moment. I honestly never thought I’d get to have Rory like this. I hate keeping her secret, but every minute I spend with her is better than the last. If we have to live a life of complete secrecy, it’ll be worth it to just hold her in my arms.

Everything I feel for her just grows stronger. I’ve never cared about anyone the way I care for Rory. She is everything I have ever wanted.

And I know for certain that I’d risk my career a thousand times over so I can keep her right where she is.

“There he is,” Lane bellows as I walk into the clubhouse to get ready for strength training. With Spring Training starting next month, it’s time to get back into the swing of things. Pun intended.

“Where else would I be?” I ask, dropping my bag in front of my stall and pulling off my jacket.

Knox flops onto the sofa across from me, taking the seat next to Josh. “Man, we haven’t seen you in weeks.”

Josh laughs. “He’s been too busy sticking his dick in-”

“Shut it, Garro. It’s a lot more than sex.”

I sense someone walk up behind me as I grab a hair tie and pull up my hair. “No, but there’s still plenty of that, huh, Pierce?”

A large smile breaks out across my face as I turn around and wrap an arm around Ari Morgan. “Holy shit, man. Did you not plan on telling me you signed?”

Ari returns the hug before breaking free. “Figured the suspense was more fun. It was made easier by all the snow after Christmas canceling my flight and begging Skip not to tell you.”

“You’re a fucking dick,” I laugh before gesturing to the rest of my friends. “Ari, this is Knox, Josh, and Lane. You’ll be seeing a lot of them on and off the field.”

“I can manage that. Spencer, though, might take longer to accept.”

“Me?” Knox asks. “What the fuck did I do? I just met you.”

“You struck me out in game seven,” he shrugs.

Knox throws his head back and laughs. “Yeah, I’m not sorry about that.”

“So, what made you sign in New York?” Lane asks, leaning forward against the back of the sofa.

Ari turns to face him. “Never really liked Atlanta,” he shrugs. “My contract was up, and it felt like it was time to go somewhere new.”

“Plus,” I interject, “I’m here.”

Ari tips his head back and laughs. “Same ego you’ve always had.”

“I never said I changed.”

“You really think you haven’t changed?” He raises his eyebrow mischievously. “You actually have a girlfriend, man.”

That seems to pique Josh’s interest. “What does that mean?”

I groan, knowing Ari is about to spill everything.

I’m not ashamed of how I used to be, but it’s not something I ever told the guys. It never felt necessary when I turned over a new leaf when I came to New York.

When I met Rory, more specifically.

Ari looks at me smugly. “You never told them how you used to fuck around every city we traveled to?”

“What?!” Lane says excitedly. “Pierce slept around?”

“Yes,” I say, pinching the bridge of my nose and already knowing the guys are going to learn a lot more about me as they get to know Ari. “I used to sleep around. Never wanted a woman for more than a night.” I take a deep breath, rubbing the back of my neck. “But then I was traded here, and I met… her.”

Knox looks at me in disbelief. “You stopped fucking around just because you met her?” His head falls back as he laughs. “And it still took you almost four years to make a move?”

“Fuck off,” I chide before lowering my voice. “You know damn well why it took so long.”

Lane slides over the back of the sofa, flopping into the seat before leaning forward, elbows resting on his knees with his hands clasped under his chin. “Please tell me you have more stories, Ari.”

“I have endless stories,” he chuckles.

I just sigh, accepting my fate. “And I’m sure they’ll all come out in due time. But why don’t we all go out tonight? We can have the girls come, too. Everyone can get to know you since you’ll be around now.”

“I’m always down for a night out.”

Knox groans. “Do we have to go out?”

“Yes,” I reply, rolling my eyes. “And even if you try not to, my sister will drag you. Suck it up, Spencer.”

“Let’s get this practice over with then,” Ari says. “I’m ready to get out and find someone else’s bed to end up in tonight.”

“It’s so nice to finally meet you, Ari!” Rory says happily from her place next to me in our booth. Ari picked the loudest and brightest club for tonight, and we luckily snagged a VIP booth in the back.

“Good to meet the woman that drew in Wichita’s most eligible bachelor,” he laughs.

Harlow wrinkles her nose. “Ew. Please don’t talk about how my brother was back then. I really don’t want to know about it.”

Rory rests her head on my shoulder, a rare bit of affection she’s showing me out in public. “Well, we all know he isn’t like that now.”

I can’t hide my smile as I wrap an arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer. “Nope. I’m only yours, Rory girl.”

“You guys are so fucking cute,” Ella groans. “I can’t stand it.”

“And you guys are the only ones that know,” I say. “I’d really like to keep it that way.”

“Might want to stop sitting so closely then,” Lucia chimes. “Matt’s meeting us here soon.”

“We finally get to meet Matt?!” Lo asks excitedly.

Lucia bites back a smile. “Yes. I figured it was time for him to meet my friends.”

Ari looks at me curiously. “Boyfriend, I’m guessing?”

“I think so. Don’t know much about him, though.”

Harlow faces Ari as she finishes taking a sip of whatever mixed drink she ordered tonight. “How are you liking New York, Ari?”

“Not bad. It’s cold as fuck, though.”

“Get used to it, man. Early part of the season is always freezing up here.”

A brunette man I’ve never seen walks up to our table now, and based on the way Lucia lights up, this must be her guy.

“You made it!” she says happily, scooting over on the bench to make room for him to join us. “Guys, this is Matt.”

“Hey, everyone,” he says with a slight wave. “As a Stars fan, I recognize some of the faces, but I’m not sure about everyone else.”

“Here, I’ll introduce you,” Lucia says, gesturing down the table. “Next to me are Ella and Josh. They just got married last month. Harlow and Knox are down at the end. Lane is sitting across from us. He has the world’s cutest daughter. Then there’s Ari. He just joined the team. On the other end are Rory and Cole. Rory is Skipper’s daughter, and Cole is Harlow’s brother.”

“Nice to meet you, man,” I say before I catch Ari out of the corner of my eye. I can’t quite make out his expression, but he doesn’t seem happy right now. “Everything okay?” I ask, lightly elbowing his arm.

“Oh… uh, yeah. Everything’s fine.”

It’s not convincing in the slightest, but I decide not to press it.

“So, what do you do for work?” Rory asks Matt.

“I work on Wall Street,” he answers. “Keeps me busy.”

Ari mutters something under his breath that I don’t quite make out before he asks a question of his own. “How long have you been with Lucia?”

Lucia replies before Matt can. “We’ve been seeing each other for about a month. We’re just having fun.”

“Fun is good, don’t you think, Matt?”

What the hell is up with Ari right now?

“Uh, yeah. Work is stressful, so I think it’s good to let loose and have some fun.”

Ari rolls his eyes while the rest of the table tries to get to know Matt.

With Rory joining that conversation, I turn to Ari, whispering lowly. “Dude, what the hell was that?”

“Nothing,” he says flatly. “Just asking questions.”

“You literally just met Lucia. Why are you grilling her… whatever he is?”

“Just trying to get to know him. I’m evidently going to be seeing him around.”

I eye him curiously. “You’re acting really fucking weird. You into Luc or something?”

He scoffs. “I don’t even know her. I’m not into her.”

“So then, why are you acting so goddamn weird?”

Ari sighs. “It’s nothing, man. Nothing important. But you can get the idea that I’m into her out of your fucking head. Honestly, I’m way more into that blonde making eyes at me over at the bar.”

I just sigh and shake my head.

Ari’s right—he just met Lucia. And as long as I’ve known him, he’s never been interested in anyone, let alone someone he doesn’t even know.

So, if that’s not why he’s acting so weird right now, what is?