Thursday, July 5, 2012

nine

Sara woke up all at once, stock still.  She knew right where she was - mostly underneath Danny wasn’t a confusing place to find herself.  Instead her ears strained for the sound of movement in the house.

Silence.

She exhaled - the kids were still asleep.  It was the first time she ever had to consider such a thing and the thought made her smile.  Across Danny’s back she could see the clock said it was just after six in the morning.  Too early to be up, so she closed her eyes and lay in the warm comfort of Danny’s arms, his scattered hair and soft breathing.

The bedroom was large and airy, the pale gray walls mostly bare.  A few photos  of the kids hung over a desk piled with the same papers and junk she accumulated at home.  A flat-panel TV faced the bed, above a low and wide chest of drawers.  The closet door was open a crack, Sara guessed it was a walk-in.  Either Danny was quite neat or he’d cleaned before she arrived.  Next to a picture window, books had collected on the top two shelves of a bookcase.  The rest was empty.

There’s room for someone else here.  By the look of the place, Danny hadn’t expanded to fill the space left by his ex-wife.  Sara frowned, pushing Danny’s hair behind his ear where he lay against her shoulder.  He shifted and pulled her closer.

“Two mornings in a row,” he mumbled.  “I could get used to this.”

She slid her hand down his bare back, grateful that he wasn’t too tall because she could easily squeeze his ass from here.  “Me too.”

Danny sleepily glanced at the time, then turned back with a sly smile.  “Ten minutes.”  

They moved at the same time - Danny shifting closer, capturing her mouth; Sara’s palm grazing his stomach before taking him in hand; his body responding immediately.  Danny pressed himself urgently into her grip, already reaching for the bedside table.  

“This makes me nervous,” she said, looking toward the closed door.

“Me too.”  He didn’t admit the reasons were well beyond a kid walking in or hearing them.  Danny had meant what he said about getting used to waking up with Sara.  As if his brain could have denied what his body was already demonstrating - this was getting serious, and quickly.  

She kissed him as he slipped inside her.  It deprived Danny of the gasp he so loved to hear, as if he literally took her breath away.  But she threw herself into the kiss, tongue wrapping into his, surprising him with hunger and force.  Sara’s whole body squeezed, making him work deliciously harder.  After that, a circus could have rolled through and Danny wouldn’t have been able to stop.  Lifting her backside with both hands, he changed the angle and pushed himself deep.

“Oh God, Danny,” Sara whispered.  She pressed her face to his skin, silencing herself, relishing the feeling of him doing that again.  Forget ten minutes, she wasn’t going to last five.  It wasn’t right that he could do this to her.  Not yet.  But she’d surely been dreaming of him while she slept, so her body was more than ready for the real thing.  Another hungry kiss and she was trembling.  Danny’s arms were taut, the muscles in his neck standing out.  At least she wasn’t the only one.  It took all her focus not to cry out as she came.  Danny’s orgasm was barely a moment later, a burst of French words coming with it.

Laying in a heap, she could feel his heart beating. His lips pressed to her temple but Danny didn’t move.  Every ounce of tension melted from Sara’s body and she closed her eyes again.

I could sleep here forever, she thought.
____

Danny leaned against the bathroom door, watching Sara find last night’s clothes strewn across the floor of his bedroom.  She’d have to start bringing an overnight bag, or leaving stuff at his place, so she could go straight to school in the mornings.  Lord knew he had empty drawers.  But it wasn’t the kind of thing you asked someone after their first night in your house.

“I’ll run you home and come back for the boys,” he said.

She smiled, pulling her gray work trousers up over those panties he’d so enjoyed seeing.  Danny scowled as they disappeared.  “Thanks.  Can’t go to work in yesterday’s clothes, people will talk.”

Can’t go to work in my car or with my boys, he knew.  She has no idea how people will talk.

Sara pulled her shirt over her head and shook her long hair free, then walked right up and gave him a kiss.  “You’re frowning.”

“I want you to come to the game tonight, but people there will talk too.  It’s been a few times now….”

He wasn’t sure how to phrase it right.  Any woman who came around more than three games was either employed or enamored.  The rest was all in how the presented it – if they acted platonic, people would continue to think she was the nanny, and also that Danny was sleeping with her.  If they were openly dating, that would be a whole new can of worms.  But there was no situation in which they were not having sex, according to the gossip mill.  Danny preferred to be upfront about it.

Sara had already thought this part through.  “You mean all those people who assumed we were sleeping together before will still think we’re sleeping together?  Only now they’ll be right?”

He couldn’t help the smile coming to his face.  “Yes.”

She wished to give him a confident, blowsy answer, but in truth it scared her more than a little.  That didn’t meant it wasn’t worth doing.  “It’s okay, Danny.  I think we can handle it,” she smiled, bolstering herself with the words.  “Plus, I’ve been dying to kiss you after every game.  Now I can.”

“Aren’t you afraid it might get back to school?”

Sara shrugged.  “If they find out, they find out.  I just don’t want announce it like I’m bragging about being with you.”  She stuffed her feet into ballet flats, then Danny opened the door to the world outside their little haven.

The boys were running around, searching for notebooks and cereal bowls.  Cam and Carson hugged Sara as she passed, but she had to double back upstairs to say goodbye to Caelan.  Danny warned them all to be ready to go in twenty minutes when he returned.

In the car, Sara put her hand high on his thigh and leaned back, still sleepy.  He snuck a few glances at the curve of her nose in profile, the spot just below her jaw where he’d pressed his face as he came for the fourth time in half as many days.  The memory made his head swim.  She smiled faintly, as if she could read his mind.  It wasn’t long enough before they stopped in front of her building.

She unsnapped her seatbelt and turned to face him.  “I would be, you know.”

“Would be what?”

“Bragging about being with you.”

Danny blushed, something he was too accustomed to doing in Sara’s presence.  She kissed him like twelve hours apart would be a lifetime.  It left Danny breathless.

“They wouldn’t believe I could get a girl like you.”

Sara made a face, like he was halfway between being adorable and crazy.  It was the sweetest thing he’d ever said to her, but Sara felt sad knowing Danny might really it.  She was nervous, but she refused to allow him to think that way.  “Oh they’ll believe it.  Starting tonight.”

Then she was gone: walking up to her front door, waving over her shoulder.  Despite the taste of her kiss still on his lips, Danny felt a tightness spreading in his chest.

“Starting tonight,” he said to himself.
____

The boys got to school more or less on time, and Danny had plenty of time to think.  He decided to wait until the end of practice to say anything to his teammates.  As if they wouldn’t talk behind his back.

“There he is!” Hartnell hollered as Danny walked into the locker room.  Claude spun around, shit-eating grin on his face.

“Hear you stole Cam’s girlfriend,” Talbot sauntered up, wearing nothing but those compression shorts he loved to show off.  He threw an arm around his fellow Frenchman’s shoulders.  “Good for you, mon ami.  She’s cool, I like her.”

“By that he means he wants to fuck her, so he hopes you screw up,” Braden Schenn added.  Max shrugged.  That part was always true.

“She coming tonight?” Claude asked.

Right on cue, Hartsy and Simmonds were shouting lewd comments.  “If she can finish before he does!” and “Twice if Briere can last that long!”  High fives went all around while Danny rolled his eyes.

“Sara will be here, yes.”

Hoots and hollers came back twice as loud.  Danny was blushing furiously at his younger teammates’ teasing – why was this always so easy for them?  He’d never had that kind of swagger.  Of course, he’d been married since he could drink, so Danny had a little more respect for the idea of making a woman important in your life.  For most of these guys, important meant remembering someone’s name in the morning.  Still they were genuinely thrilled for Danny and looked about as happy as he felt to know that something was happening with Sara.

Hartsy slapped him on the back and announced, “Commence Operation Get Danny Laid.”
____

Sara went back and forth between the Flyers shirt and the black hoodie the boys had given her at the previous games.  It was stupid, because they were virtually the same, but she had to take her nerves out on something.  Her hair went up, then down, then halfway up, the up just in the front, and back down again.  Looking in the mirror on the back of her closet door, Sara exhaled dramatically.

“It’s not prom,” she told herself out loud.  Already she wore nicely fitted jeans and boots - essentially what she’d worn before.  People had seen her.  The guys knew her.  There would be no surprises tonight except for probably a kiss, and that didn’t require a special outfit.

“Fine,” she muttered, pulling the long-sleeved t-shirt over her head.  With a final glance at her regular old hair and makeup, Sara turned away from her reflection.  “As good as it gets.”

At the rink, she picked up a ticket the way she had before.  Either it was her imagination or a few extra pairs of eyes followed her down the stadium steps to where three shaggy-haired boys were making short work of some pretzel bites - all of them in matching orange #48 jerseys.  Sara’s heart squeezed happily at the sight, while at the same time she felt a little crazy.  More than kids, these were her friends and she owed them a lot; and she was growing very, very protective of them.

“Hey guys.”

“Sara!”  There were shouts and hugs and a near-miss with the mustard dip from their snack.  Caelan hauled his backpack out from under the chair.

“Homework?” she took a seat next to them, trying to remember what Caelan had said he was studying.  Instead of a book, a big wad of orange and white hockey sweater came dragging out of his bag.

“We brought you this,” he offered her the handful.

“Oh my God.”  Her voice was a little quiet and she moved a bit slowly.  Another #48 fell open as she took the jersey.  The same size as the ones the kids wore, it was too big on all of them.  Sara quickly shook the sweater out and pulled it over her head.  She adjusted the long sleeves and smoothed her hair, using the moment to get a grip on the tears prickling behind her eyes.  “Thank you,” she held her arms out to show them.  “How do I look?”

Carson shrugged like it was no big deal.  “Nice.”

“You’re on our team!” Cameron said, more excited.  Sara hugged him just because she could.

They were not seated with the wives and girlfriends.  As the Flyers dominated the game, Sara decided that Danny did that on purpose to shield his kids.  Some of the other players had children too, and they probably attended games.  But Danny’s boys were old enough to watch themselves, more or less, and this way they didn’t overhear anything untoward.  Probably smart, she thought, knowing the talk would soon be about her.

Maybe no one cares, she considered.  A quick glance around at the number of Briere jerseys in attendance - a strong showing mixed in with the Girouxs and Hartnells - told her otherwise.  Still it made Sara proud to see all those people wearing Danny’s name, all those people who would say Briere was their favorite player.  He deserved that kind of support.

“I’m hungry,” Cameron slumped against her like if he couldn’t go on with his life unless food appeared.

For the first time in history, Carson and Caelan declined snacks.  Sara followed Cam onto the concourse during the second intermission and he led them past every concession stand at least twice.  Finally he settled on a bag of popcorn and she ordered a lemonade.  Handing over the treats, the woman behind the register told Sara, “You and your son are so cute in your matching jerseys.”

As a reflex, Sara looked immediately at Cam.  He burst out laughing, and walked away.
____

The game ended in a 4-1 Philadelphia win.  Sara trailed the boys down to the lounge, the convoluted route too much for her distracted mind.  Her jersey felt huge and clumsy, though it didn’t fit that badly.  She wondered if it was too much.  She wondered if other WAGs ever wore their guy’s numbers.  

They must, she thought.  I would.  I am.  The realization made her giggle.  The pre-game nerves were back, once again centered around her outfit to avoid the real issue.  What if they hate me?  They approached the door and Sara rolled her shoulders back.  Danny wanted me to wear this.  That’s all I care about.

Their entrance turned a few heads.  The boys went right for the snacks.  Sara felt the weight of interested stares.  She recognized some people and said hello, trying to act like she belonged there.  No one over the age of eighteen was wearing a Flyers jersey, though.  Most of the women were designer jeans and cute leather coats with boots and heels and matching bags.  Their haircuts cost more than Sara’s entire outfit.  A few of the older women smiled and returned her greeting but without any welcoming energy.  Sara guessed they didn’t usually fraternize with the help, or the whores.  She could be either one.

“Hey.”

The voice behind made Sara spin around.  A girl with a mop of dark curls and wide brown eyes was smiling back at her.  She wore a bright orange Flyers t-shirt over a long-sleeve white shirt with jeans and Adidas sneakers.  

“You must be Sara.”

“Uh, yea....”

“NORA!” Carson leapt from somewhere stage right and locked himself around this girl’s waist with both arms.

“Hey bud, what’s up? I missed you guys,” the mystery girl said.  Cameron and Caelan hurried over.  As the short-haired girl turned them, Sara saw the #28 on her back.

She must be.  She’s perfect.  Sara didn’t know Claude that well.  In fact, she hadn’t known he had a girlfriend.  But if anyone in the room was right for that ginger ball of energy, it had to be this girl.  Her affection for the boys was so obvious that Sara felt a pang of jealousy.  Carson tugged Nora’s sleeve.

“Nora, did you meet Sara?  She’s Cam’s teacher, and she’s going out with our dad.”

Whoosh.  Total silence in the room.  One of those coincidental moments when the place goes quiet just before you say something inappropriate.  Or in this case, something both obvious and surprising.  As a group, every woman took one step closer to better overhear their suspicions confirmed.

“Yeah, hi.  Claude told me all about you.”  Nora put her hand out to shake.  Sara concentrated on the smile, ignoring the way everyone held their breath to hear.  “I’m, uh, we’re...,” she fumbled for the word. “He’s my boyfriend.  Claude.”

“Hi,” Sara said.  She was so surprised to hear this lovely and confident girl crack over the word ‘boyfriend’ that Sara decided they were instant best friends.  “It’s nice to meet you.”

“I’ve been in Boston for a family thing.”  Nora leaned in and lowered her voice.  “Hope you weren’t too long along with this crowd.”

Sara shook her head.  “Tonight’s the, uh, the first night I’m here as....”

“Girlfriend.  Go ahead and say it,” Nora laughed.  “I have trouble with it too.  Claude calls me his WAG just to piss me off.  He didn’t mention me, did he?”

“I haven’t spent much time with him.”

Nora ruffled Carson’s hair.  “He was busy plotting with these creeps to get you and Danny together.  I’m glad it worked.  This is a weird place, but you’ll get used to it.  Helps to know people,” she pointed down at Carson’s head.  “And have allies.”

Cameron walked over with a cookie and leaned against Sara’s side like they’d known each other forever.  It was remarkably similar to the way Carson was standing with Nora.  They were like that when the door flew open.

“Where is she?” Claude bounded across the room in his suit, scooped up Nora and kissed her full on the mouth.  Everyone saw, no one reacted.  Must be their typical excitement.  It also took the tension in the room down a notch.

“Sara!  You... oh.  Hahahahahaha.” Claude clapped in delight, taking in her jersey.  “You look spectacular.  I see you’ve met the other most beautiful woman in the world.”  

“We were just becoming best friends until you interrupted,” Nora said.

More players began arriving.  Usually families would empty right out but tonight people milled around.  Sara knew they were waiting to see Danny’s greeting.  It would pale in comparison to Claude’s anyway, but Sara didn’t care.  Hartnell tossed an arm around her shoulder.  

“Hey Sar, hear you’re making somebody REALLY happy these days.”

“SCOTT!” Nora slapped his arm.  “Can you not be a pervert for two minutes?  There are kids here!”

“Grosssssssssssssssss,” Caelan rolled his eyes and turned away.

Hartnell just laughed.  “Good for you, and Danny deserves it.  Just don’t learn anything from this one,” he nodded toward Nora.  “Is it too soon for me to ask if you have any hot friends?”

“He missed out on mine.  Too slow and she ended up with Talbot,” Nora said.  “What can I say, smart girls go for French guys.”  She held up her hand and Sara gave her a little fist bump.  Hartnell pouted dramatically.

“Speak of the Devil!” Scott said as Danny walked in the door.  He wore a dove gray suit with pinstripes, a white shirt and a purple tie.  As always his hair was wet.  Sara watched as his eyes went from Scott to Claude to Nora to her own.

He stopped two feet away and a huge smile broke across his face.  “Where did you get that?”

“Uh...,” Sara looked down at the jersey.

“We did it!” Caelan let out a peal of laughter and high-fived Carson.  Even Cam had the good sense to blush.  Sara’s jaw dropped open, even as she was smiling, and her hands went to her hips.

“You sneaky little...,” she swiped at Cam.  “I thought it was from you!” Sara told Danny.  But immediately she was glad it wasn’t, and overwhelmed by the boys doing another thing to push her toward their father.  Kids could be extraordinarily kind without even knowing.

Danny closed the last of the distance between them, well aware that every single person in the room was watching.  God forbid Sara might think he was embarrassed.  

The kiss was like their first kiss - old-fashioned, nothing too racy, but Sara got weak in the knees.  His hands closed around her waist, she breathed in the smell of a fresh shower.  His perfect mouth on hers gave everyone the confirmation they’d been awaiting.  Danny hugged her tightly and moved his lips to her ear.

“Thank you,” he said quietly.

Her heart broke a little, as Danny kept an arm around her waist and talked easily to his friends.  She should be thanking him, yet he seemed taller and broader in his happiness.  Sara fit herself against his side until people began saying goodnight.  Nora challenged the boys to a race to Claude’s car, shot Sara a smile, and took off running with three sets of feet in pursuit.  There were still plenty of people in the room and now they had only Danny and Sara to look at.  It didn’t matter so much anymore.

“Please say you can come over,” he said quietly, looking around the room as if daring people to eavesdrop.

“I even brought clothes for tomorrow.”

The corner of his mouth curled.  “Good.  Tonight the only thing you’re wearing is that jersey.”
____



Hi everyone! My power was out for five days and as much as I wanted to write, I couldn't! It was like the Dark Ages. Finally we are back on (thank heaven for a/c). Sorry this too so long but it really wasn't my fault this time. ;) - Juliet
_

3 comments:

  1. Yes! I was wondering if we'd see Nora. Thanks for the update!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I got so excited when I saw you commented on another story...it's your tell that a new chapter is on the way...

    Love to see you merging Nora into this story...Glad to have you back.

    Loved the coming out party too!

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  3. So glad your power is back! What part of the country are you from? I know what it's like having no power as it sucks!!!

    Anyway, love that Nora is here!

    ReplyDelete