But we’re tougher.
And we kick the shit out of them with a final score of 31-7.
It feels so damn good to win, even though Nadine stayed home with Paisley because school midterms wait for no one. Including professional football games.
I stalk back to the locker room to find a text message from Nadine that is merely all exclamation points, and I smile the entire way home, knowing she’ll be there, waiting for me.
She leaps at me as soon as I open the door. “You did it!”
I press my face to her neck, inhaling her scent, and kick the door shut behind me. “We’re going to the Bowl, baby.”
“I’m so proud of you.” She forces my head up so she can kiss me. “I love you so much.”
“You tired?” I ask since I’m so keyed up, I won’t be able to sleep until well into the night, and when she shakes her head with a big grin and sparkling eyes, I carry her to bed. “Good.”
She doesn’t wait for me to take off her clothes, dragging her long-sleeved shirt with Paisley’s school’s name over her head. She kicks off her joggers while I toss my pants and shirt behind me, all my focus on the woman kneeling on the bed, biting into her lower lip as if she can keep her smile from growing. But it’s the brightest thing in this room. Even more than her words when she says, “I can’t wait to see you lift the trophy above your head. Tell them you’re going to Disney.”
I step out of my boxer briefs. “You want to go to Disney?”
She waves away the thought. “You know I hate lines. Plus, I’m going to start that long-term sub position, so I won’t have time.”
“Right.” I close the distance between us, smoothing my hands around her waist, pulling her against me, trapping the length of my hard cock between us. “Miss Rivera.”
She laughs into a kiss. “Don’t try to start that role-playing.”
I slip my hands beneath the elastic of her underwear and squeeze that juicy backside of hers. “Then what game do you want to play?”
“The one where you show me you love me.”
“That’s not a game, honey. That’s my life.” I lower her down to the bed, sliding her underwear off. Her bra goes next, so she’s completely naked, all lovely and bare for my taking. Gazing up at me with such adoration in her blue eyes that I’m not sure I want to move. I don’t want to blink and miss any of the love she’s sending my way.
“Make love to me, Camden.”
It isn’t the first time she’s directed me to make love to her, but there is something about it that feels different this time. Now that we’re not hiding anymore. Now that our families know and soon the world will too, it’s almost like it’s more real. The connection and promise of our future.
It’s really and truly makinglove.
Creating something new.
As always, I blurt out the first stupid thing that comes to mind. “I can’t wait to have a baby with you.”
She rolls her eyes, playfully pinching my side as I lower my weight on top of her. “I can’t wait to marry you. Have a whole life with you that we build for ourselves.”
In all of my appointments with Pearce, I’ve come to realize that in losing my parents, I’ve gained a new understanding of life. I have been fundamentally changed in how I view the world and what I want out of it. Or more accurately, how I want to leave it.
When I think of the lives my parents lived, I always thought they were small. But aren’t we all? Arguably, my career isn’t as important as what my mom and dad did. In fact, their work was probably of greater importance than mine will ever be. My job just so happens to be watched by a lot more people with a lot more sponsors. But my parents kept the world spinning.
If I were to suddenly die tomorrow, the only thing anyone would have to say about me would be my athletic stats and records. Other than that, I’ve done nothing of real substance. But I want to.
I want to spread joy and do good. I want to leave the worldbetter than I entered it, and being with Nadine inspires me every day in ways I never thought possible. To ask how I can help instead of waiting for someone else to do it. To speak up when something is wrong instead of assuming someone else will.
I am a better man because of the unfortunate journey I have had to undertake after burying my parents. But that ultimately led me to Nadine, so it isn’tallbad.
Their absence is still a huge hole in my life, but I am learning that I can fill those empty spaces by taking care of those around me, whether I know them or not. I’m not the selfish bastard I once was, and I don’t plan on ever going back.
I kiss my adoration into Nadine’s skin. Lick my gratitude against her pulse. Embrace the future we’ll have together with whispered words about how proud I am of her and that I look forward to the day I can call her Dr. Rivera and then Mrs. Long.
By the time I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand and lift my head from between her legs, she’s agreed to everything I want, including four children and a vacation home in Iowa. Because as small as I thought my parents lived, I need my kids to know the impact one person or place can have on someone. I want them to know my mistakes and learn from them, to understand that it’s better to keep close to those corn-fed roots than act out some fake fantasy born of fear.
