Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 82651 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 413(@200wpm)___ 331(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82651 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 413(@200wpm)___ 331(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
We share a moment of reflection, both of us lamenting all the things that Van lost as a child, but more important, all the things he’s never had as an adult because he was trying to keep his heart safe.
“I think he loves you,” Etta says, but I refuse to get my hopes up. I’ve always known Van is the long game with me. He’s not going to be the type who goes falling head over heels the way I have. Rather, he will need me to open the gate and be patient enough for him to walk through when he believes the time is right.
It could be months.
It could be years.
It could be never.
And I am okay with that, because if all I ever have from him is what I have now, it’s more than I ever had before. I’ll make it work.
I choose my words carefully, though, with Etta. “What I know is that Van makes me very happy right now. But I’m not naïve enough to think that it will be smooth sailing. He’s got decades of being closed off. And with this reporter calling, it’s causing some stress for him. The one thing I can tell you is that I’m in this for the long haul. I have patience. I’m waiting for the shoe to drop, and if and when it does, I’ll be ready for it.”
“Van says you’re stubborn,” Etta tells me with a twinkle in her eye. “That you don’t back down from a challenge, and I can tell you…our boy is a challenge.”
This causes me to laugh, because Van did put up quite a fight to hold me off. Nodding, I tell her, “Like I said…I’m patient. I know how to wear him down.”
Etta picks up her cup and takes another sip. Her eyes shine at me over the rim, and when she lowers it, she tells me, “I think Van was just waiting for you. He needed someone who could push at him, hear all the ugly and still be strong enough to shoulder it. There aren’t many women like that, and he knows it. Trust me when I say he knows how lucky he is.”
“I think I do know it,” I say with a fond smile over the many ways this past week Van has shown me a sweeter, gentler side. A side where he actually has conversations with me, and he jokes and laughs. He may not be able to express all of his emotions, but I think the most important message has been in his actions.
Van is ready for something new, and even though I know he probably still has fears and uncertainties, I’m going to be by his side while he figures it all out.
—
There’s not much upside when a professional athlete has a bad game. Particularly if it occurs during the play-offs. I’ve borne the brunt of my brothers’ tempers and frustration before, and I was not looking forward to seeing how Van would process the horrible game he’d had tonight. It’s the first time he truly played bad since we started seeing each other, and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out he has other things on his mind.
I’d like to say it’s just the stress from a reporter calling Etta yesterday, but I’m smart enough to know it’s a myriad of things, with the reporter being the proverbial straw. Van’s been involved in a secretive sexual relationship with his teammates’ little sister, he has a serial killer father with terminal cancer whom he recently saw for the first time in almost two decades, and now he has an actual girlfriend…the first one in his life. Add that he’s playing in the Stanley Cup finals before the two women in his life who are most important to him, and I’m sure that’s sufficient reason for the way he played.
He passed wide, missed checks, and fanned on a few shots. He got in a fight and got his ass kicked, much to the shock of the Vancouver home crowed who went apeshit when he caught a hook to the side of the head and lost his balance. That resulted in some stitches to his left eyebrow, and I try not to focus on it as I sit on Van’s cock while I ride him.
“Faster,” he growls at me, his hands going to my hips. Big, strong hands pulling me up, slamming me back down…not giving me a chance to give him what he wants.
His mood seems to get pissier the more I undulate on top of him, but I’m not surprised. The mood was clear when he walked into the room we’re sharing tonight and put me on my knees before him.
I didn’t mind, and in fact was turned on as he leaned back against the door with his pants undone and his hands holding my head in place so he could fuck my face.