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  “Hey, Sarah, I’m sorry I’m getting these to you so late. I got some great pictures, but I had to wait for the girls to settle down after practice so I could get names and stats and all of that to go with them.” My assignment had been to take photos of the girls’ soccer team during practice. One of the reporters had already gotten an interview with them and it was supposed to run in tomorrow’s paper.

  Uncharacteristically Sarah said, “You should have started earlier.” I was taken aback at her tone.

  “Yeah, I’m sorry. I actually did try, but they were out of town for a tournament and today was their first practice since they got back,” I said, trying not to sound defensive.

  “Well, I just hope you got some good shots since we don’t have time for any do-overs.”

  I handed the memory card to her. “I think you’ll like them. By the way, Sarah…we’re on the same page about the photo you took of Braxton and me in the locker room the other night, right? You’re not going to print it?”

  Sarah shrugged. “If you’re doing him, I don’t know why you’re so embarrassed about it.”

  I could feel my cheeks turn red, more out of anger than embarrassment. I wasn’t sure why Sarah was suddenly acting so cold toward me.

  “I just prefer to keep my personal business to myself. Please don’t print it, Sarah.”

  “Yeah, okay,” she said. “Anything else? I have to get this paper to bed.”

  “No, thanks,” I told her. She dismissed me as she went back to work, I left thinking that this girl had it really bad for Braxton. I guess if I was going to date the school stud, I should get used to it.

  *********

  The next morning I was sitting in the campus coffee shop, waiting for Zoe to show up. We were supposed to meet for breakfast twenty minutes ago. Just about the time I was thinking about texting her to make sure she was still coming, she showed up. It was probably a good thing, because I realized when I’d gone to text her that I’d forgotten my phone. She was wearing a pair of shorts with holes in the pockets and a sweatshirt. Zoe has her own sense of style and no matter how odd what she wore was, she always looked good.

  “Sorry I’m late,” she said. “It seemed like everyone in the house had somewhere to be this morning, I had to scramble for ten minutes in the bathroom.”

  “Ugh, yeah. Living with a bunch of women couldn’t be fun when it comes to bathroom privileges.”

  Zoe’s face turned serious and she said, “As long as we’re talking about how women can hold grudges.”

  I laughed. “Um, I must have missed that part of the conversation,” I told her.

  When she laid the paper she was holding down on the table, I knew what she was talking about. It was the school paper that just came out, and it was hot off the press with a big ass picture of me and Braxton kissing in the locker room on the front. Yep, the very picture that Sarah agreed not to print.

  “There are a few more inside too,” she said with a frown.

  “That bitch!” I snarled, a little too loudly. Several people in the coffee shop turned around to look at me. I didn’t care though, she was being a bitch. She had promised me…hadn’t she?

  Zoe smiled. “I still don’t think it’s a big deal, but I knew you were going to be pissed.”

  “It is a big deal, Zoe. Braxton has a reputation and now everyone on campus is going to know we’re seeing each other and think the same things you’ve been telling me all along. He’s a player and he’s only using me.”

  “Listen, Emmi, I know I said all that about him, more than once, but I’m thinking maybe I was wrong.”

  “Wrong about what?” I asked her.

  “Braxton. I was judging him on his past and that’s not really fair. Since you two have been together I haven’t seen him with another girl, or heard anything about him being with one. He seems happy, maybe what he was searching for the whole time was you, and now that he has you, he’s satisfied.”

  “That’s nice of you to say, Zoe. I know you don’t like to admit when you’re wrong, so I feel blessed. But what you think and what the rest of the school is going to think are really two different things. They’re all going to think I’m just another one of his whores.”

  “Not if they see you together. Personally, I think you worry too much about what other people think, but I doubt I can change that. So, you need to go out as a couple to a few clubs or parties, or out to dinner. Let them see that he’s with you for more than sex. Besides, whores sleep around. They couldn’t possibly say that about you. ”

  “Look who’s all of a sudden team Braxton,” I told her with a grin.

  “No, I’m team Emmi. I always will be, and if he hurts you I will kill him. But I suppose that even Casanova can grow up.”

  **********

  As usual, Zoe made me feel better. I took the paper with me so I could show Braxton and at least give him a heads up. Not that I really thought he would care, he was a lot less concerned by it than I was. When I walked into the apartment I found him on the couch surrounded by his books. He was actually reading one and it dawned on me that although I saw his books lying out all the time, this was the first time I had actually seen him study.

  He looked up at me and smiled. God I loved what that smile did to my insides. He closed the book and set it aside.

  Patting the couch next to him he said, “You’re just in time, I need a break.”

  It was my turn to smile. I recognized the look on his face and I knew what kind of break he was suggesting.

  “I’m sorry, I just forgot my phone. I have a class in half an hour.”

  “That’s enough time.”

  I laughed. “Later, I promise,” I told him.

  He tried to grab me as I made my way past him to the kitchen to get my phone. He ended up missing so he slapped me on the ass instead. When I got to the kitchen I was relieved to see that my phone was right where I left it this morning next to the coffee pot. When I realized I didn’t have it I was afraid I had dropped it on my way to meet Zoe earlier.

  I picked it up and started to head back to the living room when something on the table caught my eye. It looked like some kind of legal document and it said, “MMA” at the top of it. I couldn’t stop myself. I picked it up and started reading. They were offering Braxton a contract for two years to fight exclusively for them. There was a part that covered injuries and another part that talked about endorsements. I was speechless; Braxton assured me more than once that he didn’t want to do this anymore after this big tournament was over.

  I carried it back into the living room with me. I had all but forgotten about the pictures in the paper, and I didn’t care if he got mad that I read his contract or not. When I came back in he looked up at me, his smile fading as he saw what was in my hand.

  “I thought you didn’t want to do this? You told me it was just temporary until you win this tournament and then you’re done. I heard you tell your little sister the same thing. Did you lie to us?”

  “No, I didn’t lie,” he answered. “But, you know something…if you want to talk about this, there’s something else we need to talk about first.”

  I really didn’t know what he was talking about until I said, “What’s that?”

  “It’s been almost two weeks since I told you I loved you, and I do, Emmi, whether you believe it or not. I was willing to change my entire lifestyle for you because I love you so much. I don’t expect you to say it back, but I also don’t think it’s fair that you just refuse to talk about it.”

  He was right, I was being unfair. It was terrible that he put himself out there like that and I just blew him off as if he hadn’t said anything. I hated it when he was right, or at least when I had to admit it. I dropped down into the chair across from the couch because if I sat too close to him my powers of rational thought usually bailed on me.

  “Okay,” I finally said. “Let’s talk about it.”

  He grinned. “I’ve said my piece, I want to hear what you think about it now. How
do you feel about me?”

  I took a deep breath. I didn’t know how to explain it. I started out with, “I really care about you.”

  He snorted. “I’ve used that line myself. More than once. It’s a cop-out and you know it.”

  “It’s not a line,” I said defensively. “And it’s not a cop-out. I do really care about you. I’m just scared, Braxton. I’m a big fat chicken.”

  “What are you afraid of?” he asked, sincerely trying to understand, I thought.

  “I was in love with my ex-boyfriend, or at least I thought I was. When I found out he’d been telling me all along how much he loved me while cheating on me the whole time, it was like being kicked in the stomach and having the wind knocked out of you. My chest hurt so bad that I finally understood why people say their heart is breaking. I just don’t ever want to go through that again.”

  “I could sit here and say that I won’t ever put you through that, Emmi, or that I won’t ever hurt you at all. But the fact is that sometimes even when you have the best intentions you end up hurting the people you love. I won’t cheat on you. I can tell you for certain. You’re more than enough for me, I’m completely satisfied, more so than I’ve ever been. As far as getting your heart broken though, I have to say being in love is sometimes like being in a big fight. You get knocked down over and over occasionally. You won’t ever win though, if you don’t keep getting back up. Refusing to love again is like refusing to get up off that floor in the octagon. If you don’t at least try, you’ll lose in the end.”

  A grin spread across my face. “Wow, you’re like a philosopher.”

  “Shut up,” he said playfully. “It’s the truth. I’m not going to stop loving you because you’re too stubborn to realize that you love me too. I’m going to keep hanging on and hope you realize it soon. You can’t ever quit, Emmi.”

  It was a nice speech, but considering the contract I’d just found, I was slightly worried.

  “Does that go for this fighting thing too? Are you now thinking you don’t want to quit?”

  “No,” he said. “That guy came to the gym. I think Sam set it up. He keeps telling me I’m too good to just stop. I’m of a different frame of mind. I think stopping while you’re on top is a good strategy. One lucky punch is all it would take to change my life forever and not for the better, especially with these professional fighters. I don’t want to worry about that all the time. I don’t want that to be my life. That cycle of fight, heal, fight again gets old fast.”

  “Braxton, this isn’t a threat or ultimatum or anything. I respect that it’s your life and you have to do what you think is best for you but, I can’t be with someone who does that for a living. I cringe every time you’re in the cage and you get hit. My stomach tenses up just at the thought of it. I know for a fact, I couldn’t live like that all the time.”

  “Then we agree,” he stated. “I’ve already decided not to sign it. Mostly because I knew you and Callie would kick my ass if I did, but also because I don’t want that to be my life. I have bigger plans.”

  “Good,” I said with a smile. I stood up. “I better get to class. I’m going to be late.” Braxton hopped up too and grabbed me from behind.

  “Since you’re already late anyways,” he whispered. I could feel his hot breath in my ear and I was like putty in his hands once again.

  Instead of insisting that I had to go I whispered back, “I really can’t stay long.”

  It didn’t sound convincing, not even to my own ears. He was kissing my neck and his hands were sliding slowly up my sides toward my breasts. I sighed and leaned back into him. I knew he had won already.

  As he sucked on my neck his hands continued their journey upwards and landed on my breasts, under my shirt but on top of my bra. Even with the material between us I could feel the heat from his hands as he gripped and massaged them. He pulled his head up from my neck and put his mouth next to my ear. First he licked it and then he sucked on the lobe for a second before whispering, “I don’t need long, I promise.”

  The warm breath against my ear made me shudder. Reaching back I raked my fingers through his hair and guided his lips back to my neck. I loved it when he sucked on and kissed my neck.

  "Can I take that to mean we’re in agreement?" he asked before delving back in.

  I nodded, unable to speak with one of his hands doing crazy things to my nipples and the other one continuing its journey downward to rest just inside the top of my jeans. He snaked his fingers down slowly, as far down as he could get them into my tight jeans.

  Putting his mouth back up to my ear he said, “If you’re still in a hurry, this will go quicker if you take these off.”

  I wasn’t in a hurry anymore. I had already all but forgotten about my class. Smiling and proving I had no willpower at all where he was concerned I stripped off my clothes quickly. He took his off at the same time. When we were both nude, he wrapped an arm around my waist and kissed me on the lips. We moved to his bedroom and as we kissed he nudged me backwards with his hips until I was pressed against the wall.

  He leaned down and closed his lips over one of my nipples, tonguing the sensitive tip rapidly. My eyes closed and my head tilted back toward the wall as I moaned. I heard him say something and I opened my eyes. When I did I realized he was talking to my breasts, telling them how sexy they were. I laughed and leaned back again as he took the other one in his mouth and gave it the same treatment as the first.

  “Oh God,” I gasped as I dug my fingers into his shoulders. I could feel his hard erection pressing against me as he sucked my nipples and my pussy was getting wetter by the second.

  His hands reached down and grabbed hold of my ass and he said, “I bet you’re soaking wet for me, aren’t you, Emmi?”

  Damn I loved when he talked that way to me.

  I didn’t trust myself to try and talk at that moment, so I nodded feebly. He didn’t wait for my answer though. He decided to just check for himself. He slipped a finger into me from behind and expertly massaged my clit.

  “Mm, yes, you are,” he said. Suddenly he grabbed hold of my thighs, startling me, and lifted me up. He turned us around and propped me up on top of the desk.

  “Lucky I was studying in the living room,” he said, “The books were all cleared off for us.”

  I still had my doubts he had actually been studying, but I loved the fact that his desk was empty since all his books were on the living room coffee table. I sat facing him with my thighs spread open on the cold wood of the desk. He slipped a finger inside of me, and then two. He put his lips back down on mine and we kissed as he slid his fingers in and out of me, causing me to shiver with delight.

  When he broke the kiss and started to pump his fingers into me faster I said, in a husky voice that sounded foreign to me, “Oh yes, Braxton.”

  “Yes what?” he asked me, looking into my eyes with incredible desire.

  “Mm…you were well worth missing Chemistry for,” I whispered.

  “You didn’t really miss it,” he said with a grin. “This is pure chemistry right here.”

  He pulled his hand away from my pussy and I shuddered in protest. He dropped to his knees and I could feel his breath on the inner part of my thighs as his hands ran up the backs of my calves. My eyes were closed so when he leaned in and licked me from the bottom to the top of my slit, I let out a little cry of surprise and ecstasy as his teeth found my clit. He began to roll it gently between them while licking around the outside.

  “Shit! Fuck!” I wasn’t normally a curser, but some things required a stronger word, and this was one of them. I was trembling all over from his onslaught and I didn’t want it to end.

  As he began to lick deeper inside of me, he used his thumb to stroke my clit. He pressed harder with his thumb and flicked his tongue deep inside of me, tickling my inner walls.

  I bucked back against his mouth and I cried out about how good it felt. It was like being drunk. I wasn’t at all sure what I was doing, especially when he g
auged my reaction and began pressing harder and pinching my clit roughly for a second before beginning to stroke it in light circles.

  "Oh God, yes! Yes, Braxton…yes!" I screamed, writhing under him, focused on his mouth and hands while trying desperately not to fall off the desk.

  He must have felt me balancing tenuously on the edge because he abruptly rose and slid his arms under me. I shook in his arms as he drew me down gently to the carpeted floor. He covered my body with his and his mouth met mine again. I could taste myself on him as he pushed his tongue between my lips and I sucked on it, savoring the taste of the two of us together.

  His hand drifted down my body, squeezing my breast and then moving farther down to push between my still wet lips, deftly tickling my clit. I had to pull away from our kiss to gasp. I wriggled around underneath him. I was so close. My big problem was that I wanted him inside of me so bad. I wanted to feel my own juices against his hard cock. I reached down and grabbed it as it lay hard and throbbing against our heated bodies and I stroked him, loving the feeling of it. I could feel him jump in my hands and I smiled, enjoying the fact that my touch did to him what his did to me. He took his hand from between my legs and wrapped it over mine. We stroked him together with our tongues matching the movements. I was burning up, I felt like I was on fire.

  I moaned loudly against his lips and said, “I need you, Braxton, inside of me now.”

  "Of course you do," he agreed and we drew his cock toward my soaking wet pussy together.

  He buried himself in me with one swift motion and groaned into my open mouth. He rocked all the way in before drawing back. I reached around to cup his ass, begging him to push into me again. He accommodated me by sliding back inside. He was still in control and I was helpless as he pulled almost all the way back out. Then he followed with quick but shallow thrusts.

  "Once again, you're killing me," I told him between gasping breaths.

  As he continued his slow, agonizing tease, he used his tongue to lick along my jawline and then back down to my neck.