Reye's Gold (15 page)

“I have to give her credit, she is one tough soccer
player. You must have really pissed her off,” Henri said. Stephen didn’t respond, he just walked away to sit on the
bench for a while by himself. He needed to rehydrate before the second half, and he also needed some time alone. Henri was right, of course, she was a very good
soccer player, and he hadn’t seen this level of play from
her during their previous matches. He loved watching
her play and playing against her.

O
n the other side of the field, Sam had decided to
move Reye to the forward position. Their team wasn’t
getting anywhere near close to scoring with her in the
midfield. She would be once again paired against
Stephen.
Keep focus, Reye
, she thought. Her anger at the
beginning of the game had dimmed somewhat. It had
dissipated as she continued to glance over at him. Always
the golden one, with a body and face that could make her
melt.
Get a grip, Reye, we‘ve got a game to win
, she thought to herself.
Remember, he dissed you.

The second half started with Reye receiving the ball
several times, resulting in two shots on goal, both misses.
She was trying to shoot from ten yards back, reducing her
ability to take a good shot, but she hadn’t wanted to get
any closer, didn’t want to directly encounter Stephen. But
in order to get off a more direct shot, avoiding Stephen
would have to end. So, during the next play she received
the ball and ran forward. Out of the corner of her eye, she tracked him as he approached her. She faked right
and kicked the ball to her left in an attempt to get around
him. It didn’t work.

“Is that the best you can do?” he said as he kicked the
ball out of bounds. She ignored him and waited to
receive the ball again. This time, she ran with the ball
right towards him, a full-out sprint, hoping at the last
minute to pass the ball off to the other forward. Stephen
didn’t move and neither did she, so again, they collided and both fell hard to the ground, she landing on top.

“Are you okay?” she asked sarcastically, lifting herself
off of him as she extended her hand to help him up.

“
No problem,” he said back, as he accepted her help.
The game remained tied at zero until the end, with neither she nor Stephen surrendering any ground.

The final game required a winner, so foregoing over
time, they moved straight to a penalty shootout to decide
the outcome. A shootout usually called for five players on each side to take alternating kicks at the opposing team’s
goalie. Reye hated penalty shootouts. It had never
seemed fair to her that this part of the game should rest
on the goalie’s shoulders alone.

Five members of both teams lined up to take their
shots. Stephen’s team selected all men, while she was the
only woman included with Sam and three of her other
teammates. Stephen’s team did not miss on shot, while
Matt missed for their team. They lost, and you could
hear Stephen’s team’s jubilation in their shouts and
screams.

Sweaty from a tough and tightly played game, both
teams shook hands and congratulated each other. Henri
walked over to Reye.

“You are a really good soccer player. I enjoyed
watching you play. I’m surprised you aren’t playing col
lege ball,” he said.

“Thanks,” she said as she shrugged her shoulders.
“Too big of a commitment for me. You were good, too.”

“Thanks. Are you going to The Garden for drinks?”
Henri asked.

“Don’t know.” She felt rather than saw Stephen
approach to stand at her shoulder.

H
enri looked between the both of them. “I was just
telling Reye what a good player she is,” Henri said to his
teammate.

“I agree. I hadn’t seen you play like that before,” he
said to Reye.

“Thanks, Henri. Good seeing you again,” Reye said.
She ignored Stephen as she turned and walked over to her
team’s bench.

Henri looked over at Stephen, fighting not to laugh
but falling short. “Dude, that is one pissed off woman.”
He turned and walked away, his shoulders still shaking
with laughter. “Good luck,” he called over his shoulder.
“See you at The Garden.”

Stephen turned toward Reye’s team’s bench and
watched her as she changed out of her soccer shoes. His
eye caught hers, but again, she gave nothing away. No
smile, no nothing. Talk about stubborn. Disappointed at her response, he turned and walked to his car. Hopefully
she would be at The Garden; if not, he would drive by
her house later. He would see her again.

* * *

Reye hadn’t planned on going to The Garden after
the game, but somehow here she sat outside the building,
trying to talk herself out of going in. She gave up, opened
the truck door, and got out. Both teams were there, but
they sat in different sections of the restaurant, Stephen’s
toward the front and Reye’s in the back. She took a seat next to Sam. Taking a menu from the stack, she searched
i
ntently for something to eat, although she always ate the same entrée, grilled chicken sandwich with a side of fries.
Sam turned to her. “Are you all right?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” she replied.

“You tell me. And, by the way, you played a really
great game today. I haven’t seen you play that well since
high school.”

“Well, thank you, big brother,” she said with a smile.

“You know, someone else noticed your play today,
too.” Reye just stared at him and he continued. “I saw
him watching you when you weren’t looking.”

“Yeah? What’s your point?”

“Hey, don’t pretend with me. I listened to you the
other night on the phone, remember?”

“Yeah, I do, but I’m over it. Why would I bother with
him again?”

“Because you like him, maybe,” Sam replied. Reye gave him a hard look.

“How about we change the subject?” Sam said.

* * *

Reye had consumed three beers and needed to find
the ladies’ room fast. The beers had helped her relax and
she was feeling loose. She stood up and excused herself to
go the restroom. Stephen had been watching for an
opportunity to talk with her alone. This looked like his
chance, so, excusing himself under the guise of going to
the bathroom, he followed her down the hall.

T
he bathrooms were located in the back of the
building, past the takeout window and down a short
hallway, women on the right, and men to the left. Next to
the men’s room was a small door that Stephen opened. He
was looking for somewhere private to talk to her. This
would do; it was a small storage closet, more like a pantry,
as it was filled ceiling to floor with paper products. He
stood next to the ladies’ bathroom door and waited for her.

Why are you still here,
she asked herself in the mirror.
What were you expecting?
She threw the paper towels into the trash and opened the restroom door, stopping in her
tracks as Stephen stood before her. Her mouth opened and closed as he continued to look at her.

“Hey, will you give me a second?”

“Maybe another time, okay?” she said. She tried to
move past him, but he blocked her path.

“Look, I’d rather not share my business in the middle
of the hallway, if that’s okay with you,” she spat out.
Talk about nerve,
she thought. Stephen grabbed her hand and
hauled her into the storage closet, locking the door
behind him.

“What are you doing? Let go of me.”

“Wait, Reye, listen to me. I just want to apologize.”

“Okay, is that it? Apology accepted, now can I go?”

“No, I want to see you again.”

“People in hell want ice water.”

“I missed you.”

“Yeah? I could really tell. All those phone calls I received from you this week. Is that how much you
missed me?” Her tone held both bite and hurt.

N
ot wanting her to leave, but not wanting to argue with her anymore, either, he slowly pulled her to him, giving her time to stop him if she wanted. She pulled in
the other direction at first, but he persisted and she ended
up standing in front of him. He lowered his face and
touched his lips to hers, softly at first.

“I’m sorry,” he said and kissed her again. She opened
her mouth for him and it was all the consent he needed.
He had been hungry for her all week, and only one
thought remained in his head, the one pressing him to be inside of her, now. Breaking the kiss, he walked her backward across the small space until her back hit the wall. His
lips returned to hers for another open-mouthed kiss,
delighting in its warmth and wetness. Pulling at her shirt,
he lifted it up to allow his hands entry underneath. They
moved over and up her flat stomach to capture each of her
breasts in a strong grip. She moaned loudly into his mouth
making him harder. He was all need, continuing to feast
on her mouth before lifting her shirt and her bra to feast
on her breasts. Gone was gentleness, replaced by aggression
and immediate need. He found her mouth again,
accepting her moans and pleas, his favorite sound, kissing
her again and again. He stopped abruptly and pushed her
shorts and underwear down, only taking the time to
remove them from one leg. He was impatient to gain
access. He wrapped one of her legs around his hip and
pulled the front of his shorts down enough to free himself. He lifted Reye’s other leg and put it around his other hip,
leaning into her so he could feel her skin next to his.

He returned to kissing her mouth, his hands traveling
around his back to make sure her legs were anchored to
h
im. She would need to be as he pushed up and into her,
hard, whispering her name reverently. She felt so good
surrounding him. He started to fuck her, hard strokes in
and out of her body, aware of only two spots on her body,
two openings from which he fed. Holding on to her
tightly, he began to lift her up and down, coordinating
with his thrusts, pressing harder and harder into her. He
couldn’t get close enough. Feeling her climax building, he
swallowed the sounds that spilled from her mouth and
moved his hips into another gear, pumping faster, furi
ously seeking his climax. Capturing her breasts tightly, he
continued to pump hard and steadily into her. Her
orgasm hit her, threatening to push him over.
Please, not
yet,
he thought. “Fuck,” he said over and over again, in
time with the thrust of his hips.

He came, and this climax was beyond any in his expe
rience. His hands moved to her ass to capture her cheeks,
to tilt her hips upward, and hold her in place while he finished. He would apologize later for the marks that he
was sure would be on her body and lowered his head into
the curve of her neck, working through the last of his
spasms. He slowly regained a sense of himself, as if
waking from a dream, recognizing the position he had
Reye in, backed up against the wall in a storage closet. He
lowered her legs to the floor but remained embedded in
her, not quite ready to leave. He moved his mouth to hers
and kissed her again, gently this time, capturing her
tongue and entwining it with his.