Reckless: A Bad Boy Sport Romance (8 page)

“It's fine,” Aiden muttered, fixing his tie.

“Oh. Okay, well, listen, about the kids – they're probably just a little intimidated. I'm sure they'll come around –”

“We get along fine.”

“Oh, yeah, sure. Glad to hear that. You're a man of few words, huh?” Met with silence, my smile faltered. “So, where'd you learn to dance like that? I've never seen anyone pick up the choreography so quickly.”

“TV. YouTube.” Aiden crammed his sneakers into his bag and slipped into his loafers.

“Right. Anyway, Aiden, listen, I'm just gonna put this out there – if you ever need to talk –”

“I'm fine, but thanks.” Aiden picked up his bag, nodding at me. “I'll see you on Friday.”

When Aiden slunk out the door, I grabbed my things and started locking up the studio. I thought it would be best not to pursue the matter and leave him be for now. From what I've learned with some of these kids, it took a while for them to get comfortable around you.

It took Thumper over 4 months before he dropped the “hard thug” attitude, and he was now one of the most easy-going and lovable among my kids. Maria wasn't too far off, either. The former Little-Miss-Thang used to terrorize the place by breaking in and covering the walls with graffiti, the conductor to her band of vandal buddies. Even when I'd coaxed her and a few of her friends into our group, she would mouth off to me for at least half a year. Now, she came over to my apartment every month to make me one of her grandmother's heavenly recipes.

With both doors of the studio bolted shut, I hurried down the steps and made a left on the sidewalk. But as I slipped on my headphones and started fumbling around with the music player on my phone, I heard the faint cry of my name. I slid my headphones around my neck and glimpsed behind me.

Ace jogged across the street. He pulled at the openings of his green-and-white team windbreaker, his keys jingling in his pockets as he caught up to me. I turned around slowly, sliding my phone back into my purse.

“I thought it was you.”

“Hey...you.” Needing something to do with my hands, I pulled off my scrunchie and retied my perfectly fine ponytail. Dammit, why were my fingers so sweaty? “What are you doing in West Bronx?”

“My cousin, Vinny, called me out here to help out with a couple of boxes and some furniture. He's moving up to Norwood. And you?”

“I'm renting out that dance studio on the first floor of that building over there.” I pointed to the dingy brown-bricked building behind him. “I teach a few kids from the neighborhood – it's more of a club than a class – I think I learn more from them than they do from me, really.”

“You always liked to keep yourself busy.” Ace grinned, rubbing under his fuzzy chin thoughtfully. “But seriously, that's really cool.”

“Thanks.” I reached for my headphones, turning away from him. “Anyway, it was good running into you, yet again. Bye, now.”

“Wait, Brooklyn – hold up,” said Ace softly, taking a step towards me. “Can we talk? It'll just be for a minute.”

“I –” I hesitated, looking around me nervously. “Okay. We'll talk in my car.”

Ace followed me to my car. Before Mr. or Mrs. Rashid could see me, I ducked into the driver's seat. When the passenger door clicked shut, I pulled out of my spot discreetly. I drove us to a secluded alley 2 blocks down, riding in poignant silence.

“So.” I set my car on park and unstrapped my seatbelt. “What did you want to talk about?”

“What happened to you, Brooklyn?”

“Excuse me?” I touched my collarbone, bridling at his words. “What –”

“I've never seen you take shit from anyone,” Ace replied matter-of-factly. “Now, you're all jumpy and self-conscious. You're constantly scoping out your surroundings to make sure no one's tailing you –”

“Look, I don't know what you're –”

“That's no way to live,” Ace continued, leaning over to rest his elbows on his lap. His frustration was manifested in his amplifying, forceful tone. “You know you deserve better than that. Why would you –”

“You can't just...”

“Oh, no. No, no, no.” I wagged my finger furiously, a blush of anger sweeping across my cheeks. I was on the verge of steaming out of my ears. “You don't get to suddenly show up and start telling me what I'm supposed to be doing with my life. Or did you forget that you were the one that moved halfway across the country and disappear– not one phone call, email, nothing –”

“Brooklyn, I get it. You're right,” said Ace gently, bowing his head. “I'm sorry. That was out of line.”

“R-right.” I leaned back in my chair, crossing my legs. “You bet your ass that was out of line.”

“If it's any consolation, I'm sorry I never called. I thought it was best –”

“Never mind. It's over and done with. I've moved on, as I'm sure you have.”

“Okay.” He didn't push it any further. We stewed in another bout of awkward silence until he broke it. “I just wanna know. Are you happy?”

“I'm – I'm satisfied, yes.”

“That's not what I asked.”

“Well, o-kay, nosy.” The corners of my mouth twitched. “Xavier's a little...rough around the edges, but he's got daddy issues. And, I mean, he can be really sweet when he wants to be.”

“Forgive me if I'm out of line again, but it sounds more to me like you're trying to convince yourself. Isn't that a red flag? When you have to actively think of why you're with who you're with?”

“And what do you know?” I snapped, pulling at the skin on my elbows. “You're one to talk – doesn't seem like you're in any position to be handing out love advice yourself. Pretty sure those 2 lovely ladies from the party would back me up on this one.”

“Fair enough,” Ace conceded, his nostrils flaring as if he was trying to hold in a chuckle.

“But if you must know, Xavier is the embodiment of everything my parents have ever wanted. Young, handsome, obscenely rich, with a quasi-celebrity status. Oh, and did I mention, obscenely rich.”

“Sounds like your parents should be dating him instead.”

“I know, right?” I laughed. It was more of a snort, really, but it was oddly exhilarating.

“I've missed that.” Ace spoke slowly, almost as if he was waiting to see how far I'd let him keep going. “I've missed you, Brooklyn. I may not have called, and I realize how that could have been a dick move. This may sound like a crock of shit, but I really did love you. Care about you. Always have.”

A tingle shot up from my stomach to the tips of my fingers. There now sat a small crinkle or 2 next to his eyes, which had been visibly hardened with age and rough experiences. But as he gazed back at me, I could see the same soulful sincerity I'd fallen in love with when I was 16.

“And we may not have seen each other in 11 years, but I can assure you not a day goes by that I don't see your face anyway.”

“Ace, I – I don't know what –”

“That's fine.” Ace shifted in his seat, adjusting and readjusting himself uneasily. “But Brooklyn, there's something you need to know –”

I wasn't sure what I was thinking – in all honesty, I don't think I was. Right that moment, all my responsibilities, commitments, and every secret affliction I harbored evaporated. I just wanted to quench this unabating longing that had awoken inside of me. I just wanted to feel good...

Ace moaned softly as I mashed my lips against his. He reacted immediately, his hand sliding behind my head as he kissed me back. I forced my tongue into his mouth and swirled my tongue around his. The taste of his lips and the familiar scent of his minty deodorant finally tamed the aching fissure he'd instilled inside of me when he left. It was like he'd returned a piece of the puzzle I'd never even known was missing.

The bristles of his beard felt softer than they looked, grazing against my chin and the space above my upper lip. Without saying a word, I climbed on top of him and yanked the lever underneath him, pushing his seat down in full-recline. The tip of his stiff cock prodded at my thigh, suffocating in the tent of his jeans.

As he reached under my tank top and unclasped my bra, I unzipped his pants and unearthed his cock. I wrapped my hands around his warm, thick member and stroked him, feeling every pulsing vein in my hand. While he caressed my breasts and tweaked my nipples between his fingers, I ogled at his saluting length.

It was a shade lighter than the rest of his body, untouched by the sun. The sight of it was almost mesmerizing. What I wouldn't give to feel this length easing its way through my tender lips, filling me up until I'd lost my will to think.

I leaned forward and lifted myself from his lap. His thick, rough fingers hooked into the waistline of my leggings. He slowly peeled them down my trembling thighs as he planted a trail of soft kisses from my ear to my collarbone. Our husky, shivering breaths mingled with the sounds of squeaking leather.

He pushed aside my panties, finding the long-neglected pearl quivering above my cunt...

Chapter Eleven:
Brooklyn

2016

“Aww, yeah. Fuck, that's good.”

The perspiration that had accumulated on my hairline began to drip down my face, one bead at a time. My jaw was sore and the chords on my neck were starting to sting, but I persisted. My grip tightened around the girth of the throbbing, pink-tipped dick, pumping the length in and out of my mouth.

“I don't know what's gotten into you, but if this is your way of apologizing, you should piss me off more...”

I gazed up at Xavier. A few tears squeezed out from the corners of my pink eyes, but I wasn't entirely sure if they were from the strain of my sore mouth. He leaned against the exquisite carved mahogany of his front door, petting the back of my head absentmindedly. His handsome, clean-shaven face took turns slacking and rumpling in pleasure.

I closed my eyes, massaging his sack as my lips and tongue manipulated him in my mouth. But no matter how hard I willed myself to concentrate, I could almost feel Ace's strong grip around my waist, holding me close to him. And though my mouth and hands never stopped moving, my thoughts soon derailed.

My toes curled. Ace's tongue flicking in and out of my folds as I rode his face...The feel of his thick, fat cock squeezing past the drenched lips of my yearning cunt...The knee-weakening spasms that took over me as the tip of his cock tickled that vulnerable spot deep inside me...

Jolted by a sobering pang of guilt, my eyes sprang back open. I suddenly felt sick. Sick with shame and self-loathing. What the hell was wrong with me? Not only had I fucked up supremely and betrayed Xavier, I was fantasizing about the guy with my boyfriend's dick down my throat.

“Yeah, baby, I'm – I'm getting close. You ready to feel my hot load down your – ah, ow, ow, fuck!”

Xavier reeled backwards, a girlish yelp erupting from his mouth.

“Oh, God,” I breathed, plucking out the strands of his pubes caught between my front teeth. “I'm so sorry. Are you –”

“Goddamn it! I was so close, too – can't you do anything right?”

“It was an accident. I said I was...” I straightened up, my shoulders stiffening.

“So, are you gonna finish me off, or?”

I reached for his waist, returning him to his previous position. Xavier cocked his head back, his face falling. He jerked away from me, but I'd already seen it, clear as day. That reddish-pink splotch of a hickey and what looked to be the moldings of a bite mark on his left butt cheek.

“What's that?”

“It's nothing,” said Xavier quickly, his Adam's apple bobbing nervously. “Must be some bug bite from when I went out camping with the guys.”

“You mean when you went to Sequoia 4 months ago?” I pushed myself to my feet, staring hard at him. “Might wanna get that checked out, then. That thing must be infected if it's been ailing you for so long.”

“Whatever. Screw this. You've killed the mood,” Xavier groused, flouncing away from me. “I'm gonna jack off in the shower. Come join me when you decide you want to stop being a a bitch.”

When I heard the bang of the slamming bathroom door, I was more stupefied by his sheer nerve than I was with what I'd just unwittingly walked into. It was like I'd surpassed all possible levels of anger and was now just curious as to what else I'd been so blind to all this time. As the shower hissed and smoke floated out from under the bathroom door, I walked over to Xavier's phone, perched on the edge of the coffee table.

The thin, lightweight phone felt so foreign in my hands. I swiped right, shaking my head as I unlocked his phone. The arrogance of his password-less phone was just more salt to the wound.

For the next 5 minutes or so, I scrolled through the graphic messages flooding his account from different women. I swiped past more images of Xavier's dick and random titties and asses than I could count. Another treasure trove came in the form of the 5 or so hook-up and dating apps he actively used on his phone. The list went on and on, each undeniable date stamp hitting me like an extra punch in the gut.

Chapter Twelve:
Ace