The Beautiful Game

Chapter Thirty-Four - Carter

I'm taking the stairs up to Lou's apartment two at a time. Even with the ache in my legs from the two-a-days coach had us running prior to our game next week.

It's been three days since the morning she left my car with her proposal of a no-strings attached agreement.

Three days of me thinking of nothing else.

I was finding it hard to concentrate; the thought of her sprawled across my mattress, pleasure coursing through her body, calling my name, it was all I could think about.

I'd only held off so long without messaging her because I didn't want to come on too strong.

Blondie's a firecracker; ridiculously smart, funny, and beautiful. However, when it came to this, she seemed delicate.

I'd seen the colour return to her face as she'd slept, the purple ease from beneath her eyes. Regardless of her sharp tongue and cool gaze, she was a virgin and she'd been so responsive to my every touch. I imagined her naked with a silk bow around her waist stating: 'handle with care'.

I didn't want to fuck this up, even though I wanted to knock the fucking door down and throw her on the nearest surface. I take a deep shuddering breath when I reach the door.

I was so far out of my comfort zone; this was not me. I didn't get nervous about knocking on a girls door, fuck, most of the time I didn't need to knock. They'd throw it open and rub up against me like an animal in heat.

I look down at myself, my t-shirt slightly creased from the drive over, hair still slightly damp from my shower.

Get a fucking grip of yourself Carter. Knock on the damn door.

I knock twice before I hear movement behind it, my heart racing.

Lou opens the door and the shy smile she gives me, makes me totally forget about my aching quads. The tightness in my chest loosens at finally seeing her, like it knew what I'd been waiting for.

"Hi." She seems as nervous as I do.

"Hey Blondie, funny seeing you here." I grin back at her, letting my eyes travel. Her hair is up in a loose messy ponytail, golden wisps brushing against her neck. She's wearing a loose blue jumper that matches her eyes and black yoga pants that make me almost scream for her to turn around so I can check out her ass. She's fucking breath-taking.

We both stand staring at each other for a moment too long before she seems to realise, blinking and wetting her lips before pulling the door fully open and stepping aside.

"Come in."

"Thanks." I walk into her apartment, allowing myself a moment to breathe in the sweet smell of her as I pass. Vanilla and cherries. Perfect. Lou closes the door behind me, I shrug out of my jacket and turn to see her nibbling on her lush bottom lip, fiddling with the sleeves of her sweater.

"So, you needed to see me?"

"Huh?"

"Your message." Her nerves are palpable and I want nothing more than to make them go away. I don't want Lou to be nervous around me, I want her to feel safe. Feel good.

"Yea Blondie, I needed to see you." She looks up at me beneath her thick lashes.

"This was a bad idea." She murmurs.

I walk towards her and reach for her hand, thankful when she gives it to me and lets me pull her from the doorway.

I do what I've been wanting to do since the moment she woke, soft and sleepy eyed in my bed. I brush my hand against her cheek, it warms beneath my palm as she blushes, her lip no longer prisoner between her teeth. I tilt her head back so she's forced to look up at me, my fingers slipping into the silkiness of hair at her nape. My other hand slides around her waist, pulling her flush against me.

"Does this feel like a bad idea? I wanted to see you." Her hands finally free from the sleeves, she reaches up carefully, letting them join at the back of my neck. Standing on her tiptoes to reach me.

It's a soft kiss, just pressing our lips against each other. Still, when she whimpers, I can't help but groan.

"Those fucking noises." I press her harder against me and she opens her mouth, allowing me to sweep in with my tongue. Our bodies melt into one another, we're both pulling to get closer. Her hands on my neck, my arm wrapped around her waist.

The kiss feels like a hot bath after being out in the cold for hours.

Her breath whooshes out of her when I finally give in to the urge to allow the hand around her waist to delve lower and grab onto her perfect ass. It fits perfectly into my palm, the soft fabric of her pants like a second skin, my dick hardens in my jeans as I imagine her wearing nothing beneath. I pull her bottom lip into my mouth, she whimpers again.

The urge to see her is too much, so I lean back, her cheeks rosy, pupils so dilated, her eyes are almost black.

"How do we do this?" She whispers, there's no one else here but us, it's like she's lost the power in her voice.

"What do you mean?" My mind is on the back foot, it's still in disbelief that I'm actually in her apartment, kissing her and holding her like it's my god given right.

"Do we, er, do you have-" Her hands slip down from behind my neck, travelling down to rest against my chest. Long gone is the bravado from my car when she suggested doing this. "You know I haven't, y'know, before... and I think I want to but, I-"

"Blondie, there's no pressure here." I ease up on my groping and give her some more space, I hadn't meant to escalate things so quickly. I'd pretty much torn off the 'handle with care' ribbon with my teeth. "I could kiss you for hours."

She smiles at me, before reaching up to take my hand from her face and pulling me towards the couch, we sit beside each other.

"So, what do you usually do now?" She asks, my eyebrow quirks up.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, when you turn up at a girls place, what do you do?" I cough into my fist, hating the idea of her just imagining herself amongst the faceless girls I've been with. My eyes betray me as they slide towards the hall that leads to her bedroom, we'd never have made it to a conversation on the couch, that much was clear. Lou notices. "Oh." Shit, I change the subject.

"Have you eaten yet?" She blinks at me, surprised.

"No, I haven't."

"Great, me neither. Let's order pizza."