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CHAPTER FIVE

LEDGER

“ I bet it’s going to be any time now,” Griffin says as I slam another puck into the net from center ice. “You just wait. That phone is going to go off and you’re going to sprint yourself right out of here.”

He’s not wrong.

I’ve been waiting to hear from Marlee for the past eight days.

It’s killing me that I haven’t heard from her yet.

And not just because she hasn’t texted me.

I was good for the first four days. I even practiced my jack-off technique so I could be swift and efficient.

I’ve got it down to a science now. I could probably blow my load into the damn cup with my eyes closed.

But these last four days? I’m literally dying.

I’ve convinced myself that if I fast and don’t rub one out until the moment Marlee says it’s time, I’ll have more to give her. Who the fuck knows if it’s true or not, but logic says whatever I keep in means I’ll have surplus later.

It’s got to be like constipation, right?

Don’t shit for days, and then have a blow out when the time comes.

The more sperm for the beautiful mom-to-be, the better.

Makes sense to me.

“How are you going to do it?” Griffin asks when I don’t respond to his first statement.

Clearly, I’m a little on edge, which is why I’m currently on the ice on a Thursday evening slapping pucks into the net with my best friend and only teammate to know what’s going on in my personal life.

I’m not ready to tell the guys just yet, but I had to tell Griffin, for no other reason than because Layken and Marlee work out of the same office so I’m certain they will talk anyway.

Plus, Marlee is right. I need to be able to talk to someone.

Griffin called a few hours ago, knowing I was probably on edge, and invited me to shoot pucks with him.

I love the guy for knowing what I need and getting me out of my apartment.

“What do you mean how am I going to do it?” I ask, only slightly irritated at his question.

“You know. Are you going to just stand there in her bedroom and…” He gestures with his hand. “Jack off in front of her?”

My brows pinch as I glare at him. “What? No dumbass. I’ll do it in her bathroom.”

I’ll do it in her bathroom, right?

Did she tell me where I’m supposed to do it?

Did we talk about that?

Did I ask her?

“You don’t really know that, do you?” I take one look at Griffin with a smirk on his lips. “You’re questioning it right now.”

“Fuck,” I say, wiping my hand down my face. “We didn’t exactly talk about the where or the how. Just the what and when.”

He claps me on my shoulder. “I’m sure you’ll be fine. It’s not like you have trouble performing or…” He stops, arching his brow. “You don’t have trouble performing, right?”

“What? No.” I scoff. “I can handle myself just fine thank you very much.”

“Good.”

“I read some things too.”

Griffin eyes me. “Read some things? What do you mean?”

“Like a few ways to help her get pregnant faster.”

“Oh really? Like what?”

“Like making sure her legs are up in the air once she’s got my swimmers inside her.”

He cocks his head. “Her legs up in the air? What does that do?”

I shrug. “I don’t know. Gravity, I guess.”

“Hmm. Alright. What else?”

“Uh, I read that if she has an orgasm after I’ve unloaded, there’s a better chance she’ll get pregnant.”

“Is that really true?”

I grip my stick, lifting it as I shrug. “How the hell should I know? I just know I don’t want to fail her so I got her a gift. It’s probably way out of line, but I want to make sure I give her every opportunity to get pregnant, you know? I don’t want to walk away having her questioning my ability.”

A slow, knowing grin grows across Griffin’s face. “Dude, did you buy Marlee a dildo?”

“No,” I say, shaking my head. “But I did buy her a vibrator.”

He snorts with laughter. “Bro…”

“What?” I ask, exasperated. “What if she doesn’t have one?”

“Uh, your hand works just fine. Maybe even your tongue.”

“But she doesn’t want anything about this to be sexual.”

“And giving her a vibrator that you bought for her isn’t sexual?” The look on his face tells me he thinks I’m full of shit.

“I don’t fucking know, man. Yeah, I guess it is. But it’s also a lot less sexual than me offering to touch her or…you know.”

“Yodel in her valley?”

“Huh?”

“Polish her pearl? Nibble the bean? Perform the Australian kiss? Dine in at the Y? I don’t know if I can be any clearer here,” he teases, pretending to be irritated by my ignorance.

“Yes.” I nod. “Yes to all of that. I figure giving her a toy she can use on her own is less sexual than enjoying the watermelon sugar.”

Griffin points at me and winks. “That’a boy.

I forgot that one. Honestly, I think you’re crazy as fuck for even going along with this whole plan when you could have just asked her out but more power to you my friend.

I have no doubt you’ll have her knocked up in no time.

Now come on.” He taps a few pucks in my direction. “Let’s see you hit a few more.”

I spend the next twenty minutes hitting pucks across the ice and being a goalie for Griffin while he tries a few maneuvers, and then I hear my cell phone chime in my pocket.

“Whoa. Hold up!” I gesture with a raise of my hand as I dig into my pocket. I pull out my phone and see the message I’ve been anxiously anticipating.

Marlee

It’s time!

“Is it her?” Griffin shouts from center ice.

I nod in response. “Yeah. I’ve got to go.”

I reply to her text that I’m on my way and then bend down to help pick up the pucks but Griffin pushes me out of the way. “Get out of here dumbass. I’ll get the pucks.”

“But—”

“Ledger, your girl needs you and that egg waits for no man. Hurry the fuck up and get out of here. You’ve got a job to do.”

“Right.” I nod.

If only I could drive in ice skates.

“Plus, Marlee will be pissed at me if I’m the reason you don’t get there. This is one time I will absolutely not be a cock block.”

“Thanks man. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Sure thing.” He waves me off as I rush off the ice. “And good luck!”

I’m out the door in less than ten minutes and pulling up in front of Marlee’s condo roughly twenty-five minutes after her text.

She doesn’t live far from my apartment complex, which is a benefit.

It’s a beautiful set of six condos nestled into a community of matching buildings.

It’s nice to know she’s not alone here and that I could get to her easily from my place if need be.

“Okay, you can do this, Ledger. You can do this.”

I take a deep breath with both hands on the wheel and blow it out as I give myself a little pep talk before walking up to her door. “Shoot and score, man. Puck in the net. Jizz in the cup. It’s time to work some magic.”

I swallow my nerves because there is zero part of this that feels natural and walk up to Marlee’s front door. I reach up to ring the doorbell, but she opens the door before I even get the chance.

“Saw you coming,” she says on a laugh.

Is she going to see me coming though?

Should I ask her that?

“Hey Marlee, are you planning to watch me rocket your future child out of my cock?”

Yeah, definitely not asking her that.

“Hi.” I give her a soft smile and push my hands into my pockets so I don’t fidget. I’m not exactly sure what the etiquette is when you’re showing up at someone’s door for the sole purpose of masturbating into a cup for them.

Marlee gestures inside. “Please, come in.”

“Thanks.”

She closes the door and then leads me into her condo.

It’s a nice-looking place as I glance around the warm hued living room.

Summer flowers decorate her mantle and there are a few pictures on the opposite wall.

Marlee spins around as we enter the kitchen.

“Can I get you a drink?” She chuckles nervously. “Something to take the edge off?”

My brows peak. “Are you nervous, Marlee?”

“Yep.” She tips back her glass of vodka and orange juice, swallowing the rest of her drink.

I only know it’s vodka and orange juice because the bottle of vodka and the carton of orange juice are still sitting on the counter next to where her glass was.

“And I wouldn’t blame you one bit if you’re nervous as well. ”

Is she nervous because of me?

Or just of the situation in general?

Shit. If it’s me, I don’t want her to be nervous.

This could be a lot easier if we could just fuck and try to knock her up the old fashioned way.

I could definitely make her feel a lot more at ease.

I wave away the offer of a drink, knowing I need to be strong for her. Confident. “I’m good, thanks. But it’s okay to be nervous,” I tell her. “What can I do to help?”

She brings her glass back to the counter and pours herself a few swallows of straight vodka before tipping it all back in one long gulp.

Fuck me.

Marlee can drink.

“You can provide me with a batch of your strongest, healthiest swimmers.”

I nod as the corner of my mouth lifts into a reassuring smile. “That I can do.”

“What have you got there?” she asks with a lift of her chin toward the gift bag hanging from my wrist.

“Oh. Uh, I got you a gift. I’m sorry if it’s a little personal but I was doing some reading about the fastest ways to get someone pregnant and well, I wasn’t sure if you had one so…” I hand the bag to Marlee and watch as she tugs on the tissue paper before pulling out the square box inside.

Immediately her cheeks redden and she bites her bottom lip.

Is she trying to hide a smile?

“You got me a rose vibrator?”

“The internet said it’s good for women to have an orgasm after they’ve been…”

“Inseminated?” she answers for me, her lips tugging upwards.

“Yeah.” I nod. “So, I did a little research and everyone says this one is the best. It can take you from zero to orgasm in a matter of seconds. I just…you know, I wanted to be thorough. For you. I want you to have your best shot at this.”

Fuck.

And now that I’m standing in front of the girl I’ve been crushing on, having just handed her a fucking vibrator, I feel like an absolute shmuck.

Shifting my stance I lower my head, shaking it in disbelief. “Sorry. It was a stupid idea. I shouldn’t have gotten something so?—”

“No,” she says, bringing her eyes to mine.

“This was extremely thoughtful of you, Ledger. I love it. I mean, I…God…” She palms her forehead.

“I shouldn’t say I love a vibrator. What I meant was I love the gesture.

” She shakes her head again. “I mean I don’t not love the vibrator.

Who doesn’t love a good vibrator, you know?

Zero to big O in a matter of seconds?” She giggles nervously and brings a hand to the base of her neck, nodding adamantly. “That’s…that’s impressive. Thank you.”

Hell, she’s cute when she’s nervous.

“You’re welcome.”

We stand together in silence for a moment and then she finally inhales and releases a quick breath. “Okay, I guess we should do this, yeah?”

I give her a reassuring smile and nod. “Yeah. Let’s do it.”

Marlee leads me upstairs to her bedroom and gestures to the ensuite bathroom.

“Uh, everything you need is in there on the counter. Oh!” Her brows pinch.

“But I wasn’t thinking that you might want to lie down.

If that’s the case, you’re more than welcome to be in here and I can wait in the bathroom. ”

I shake my head and try to ease her nerves. “The bathroom will be fine.”

“Okay.” She glances around her room and then says, “Do you need the Wi-Fi password?”

“The Wi-Fi password?”

“Yeah. Sometimes the internet can be spotty in this part of town, so if you need the password so you can stream whatever you?—”

“I don’t need the Wi-Fi, Mar,” I tell her. “This will only take a minute.”

I don’t miss her gaze dropping from my eyes to my thighs—or rather in between them. When she glances back up at my face, I place my hand on her shoulder and say, “Last chance to back out. Are you sure this is what you want?”

“Yeah.” She nods. “Yeah, this is what I want.”

“Okay.” I lift my hand from her shoulder to her hair, smoothing it back with my thumb. “I’ll just be a minute.”

“Ledger?”

I turn back from the doorway of the bathroom. “Yeah?”

“In case I forget to say it later, thank you. Thank you for doing this.”

“I’d do anything for you, Marlee.” Maybe that’s saying too much but fuck it. I like her and I know this is hella-unconventional, but the girl of my dreams wants to be a mother and asked me to give her the sperm she needs to make her dreams come true. No fucking way would I ever say no.