Reye's Gold (17 page)

“How do you keep this place so clean?”

“My mother hired a bi-weekly cleaning service for
us.”

“Oh.”

“What do you mean, oh?”

“Nothing. That’s really generous of her.”

“Generous, my ass. It’s just a way for her to keep tabs
on what’s going on in my life. She employed the cleaning
s
ervice, and I’m sure she is informed of any out-of-the
ordinary occurrence around here.”

“I see,” she said, standing in the middle of his room,
which also possessed floor-to-ceiling windows and a
sliding door that opened out to a small patio. The wood
floor continued throughout the house, accompanied by
walls painted a light brick color. In Stephen’s bedroom,
a king-size bed covered with a beautiful white duvet was
positioned along the non-windowed wall. Matching
nightstands flanked the bed with books scattered and
stacked on them. Reye knew very few students with
coordinated furniture. This wasn’t your regular student housing; not for anyone in her crowd, anyway. Framed
pictures also adorned the walls in here. Impressive; she
bet good money that a designer had decorated this
place.

She followed Stephen into a large walk-in closet and
stood watching him. He stood in the middle of his closet
looking through his clothes. He really had a lot of
clothes. Funny, she could only recall seeing him in jeans,
shorts, or t-shirts. She continued to stand and watch
him, admiring the way he moved. He always seemed at
ease in his skin, something she’d envied sometimes. He’d also proven to be a very sexual being, and he was comfortable with those thirsts, too. She closed the closet door and walked over to stand behind him, putting her arms around his waist. She loved that she was close to him in
height. She loved, absolutely loved, his body. She’d grown
accustomed to their unexplainable sexual connection and his endless supply of sexual energy.

S
he leaned over his shoulder and planted a kiss on his neck as he continued to look forward, pretending indif
ference. She knew better. She moved one of her hands to the front of his jeans and followed the hard length that
seemed to grow in size under her hand. She loved that
part of him, too. He remained still, but she could hear his
desire by the change in his breathing. She unbuttoned
and lowered the zipper of his jeans slowly while she
moved to kiss the space just under his ear, another
favorite. She closed her eyes and gave herself over to the feel of him. One of her hands moved under his shirt to
touch his skin. Grabbing the end of his t-shirt, she pulled
it up and over his head and moved to stand in front of
him, looking into his eyes, finding them simmering with
desire. That was a look she’d also come to love. It made
her feel extremely sexy, and could take her from zero to
sixty in two seconds flat. She kissed him, mouth open
and hungry. She loved his mouth, his tongue, and his intensity. She loved that he took control of her body,
moving into a zone that had him making love to her each
time like it would be his last and he had to make it count.
Lowering herself on her knees in front of him, she pulled
her shirt over her head and released her bra. She opened
his jeans, pulling them down his legs and off, running her
hands over his hard length, smiling at his sharp intake of air. She looked up at him, all golden, and all hers, at least
for now. Removing his underwear, she leaned over him, taking him in her mouth. They both moaned. His hands
found purchase in her hair, positioning her head to his
liking. She loved the feel of him and allowed him to set t
he pace, finding a rhythm that she could accommodate
and groaning at the rightness of her mouth on him. Moving his hips faster, he held her head steady and
pumped into her mouth. Not soon after, a steady stream
of words escaped his mouth, a sure sign that he was close.

“God, Reye,” he whispered. Grabbing his butt, she
pulled him closer. He whimpered but continued to
pump. “Reye,” he moaned again as he came. She con
tinued to hold him to her until she felt his body relax,
and then she sat back on her heels and looked up at him.
He stared back at her, his eyes unreadable.

He didn’t say a word, pulling her up to him for a kiss,
lifting her arms, placing them to circle his neck while his
hands moved on, seeking her breasts.
Perfect
, he thought
and rubbed circles around them. He was getting hard
again, but this time he would be inside of her. He leaned
back away from her. “Take off your pants,” he said with quiet authority. That worked for her; she was more than
ready and would have done just about anything he’d
asked of her. When all of her clothes were gone, he pulled
her back to him, loving the feel of his body next to hers,
skin on skin, smooth and firm. He backed her up to the
closet door, turned her so that she faced it, lifted and
placed her arms high on the door and took a moment to
admire her as she stood.

“Oh, Reye,” he said at the picture she made. He
moved his hands in front of her to capture her breasts,
squeezing them gently, hearing her moan. One of his
hands made the trek down the front of her body to the
opening between her legs. He found her wet, always wet,
h
is finger playing with her until her panting became fast
and erratic.

“Please,” she begged him.

He moved in closer to her, touching the front of his
body to her back. Leaning over her shoulder he whis
pered in her ear, “What do you want, Reye?” His hands
continued to play her body, eliciting another moan from
her. He moved them to her waist, pulling her ass out
ward, away from the door. With one of his legs he spread
hers, moving in close, and, without warning, he plunged
into her. She couldn’t think, could only feel. His hands
found her breasts again, and, leaning over her back, he
sucked her neck while he fucked her hard. He didn’t stop,
couldn’t stop, relentless in his stokes as his mouth feasted
on her neck. His hands moved, frenzied, at her breast. She came, quick, strong, and sharp, rendered incapable
of speech.

“Reye, Reye,” he growled, her name a mantra, his
chant, as he came into her, holding her hips tightly to
him. They didn’t move. He stood leaning over her, with
her slightly bent towards the floor taking in gulps of air.
Straightening, he turned her in his arms, walking her
until her back touched the closet door, rubbing his
thumb over the mark now at her neck. Cupping her face
in his hands, he kissed her again and again, content to
have her skin next to his. He would get past this need for
her. He just needed more time. What was it about her
that left him shaken and craving for more?

* * *

Practice soccer fields in the city were hard to find.
The center didn’t have land of its own, just an area out back that held a swing and a slide for the kids’ use during
its operating hours. Reye needed land, not a full-scale
soccer field, just enough for her kids. Most of the fields
in this city belonged to soccer clubs that had negotiated
large contracts for their usage for the entire year.
Although she’d grown up playing in the clubs, it still
annoyed her that children had to pay to play.

Lucky for her and her team, Dr. Susan had connec
tions. A friend of the director had given her the hook-up
on a field located within walking distance to the center.
Practice was scheduled for six, immediately following the
after-school program. Reye had arrived at 5:30 to set up
cones and her other equipment. She needed more balls
and more training gear, but she was learning to be inventive with her equipment requests. Dissipating rapidly was her fear of approaching businesses, or anyone, for that
matter, to ask for money. Amazing that when you felt
passionate about something, it could drive you out of your comfort zone. Coaching her team had done it for
her, making her fearless on the kids’ behalf.

Sam walked over to her. She’d asked him to help her
out today, a little nervous her first time coaching.
“Thanks for coming,” she said.

“Hey, you owe me, and I’ll collect, don’t worry. What
do you need me to do?”

“Nothing much. Help me when you think it’s neces
sary. Let’s see if I can manage by myself first.”

R
eye looked over the children and their parents who
were here waiting for her to start. Nine kids so far: her six
regulars from the program, all with their parents’ permis
sion, plus the new children who’d recently joined the
aftercare group. Seeing Shane standing among them was
a surprise, having not yet received permission from his
parents. They’d not responded to any of her calls, ever. She’d have to deal with that later.

She called the kids over to her. “Today we are going
to learn how to pass the ball to each other. I need you to
line up side by side,” she said and waited as they moved
to follow her instructions. “Nice line!” she said. “This is
how we pass the ball.” Placing the ball at her feet, she
demonstrated while she talked. “When you pass the ball
to each other, you can use different parts of your feet, the
inside, the outside, or the front, not with your toe, but
with your laces.” Reye demonstrated, touching the ball
using all parts of her feet. “Okay, let me try with one of
you. Shondra, come here, please?” She waited while
Shondra, who was dressed from head to toe in pink,
walked over to her. “I’ll pass the ball to you, and I want
you to pass it back to me. Okay?” Shondra nodded. Reye
passed the ball and Shondra kicked it back to her, striking it with her laces. “Great, now again, using
another part of your foot. Great! Now kick one more
time with the other side of your foot. Awesome! Thanks,
Shondra. Now let’s form two circles and practice kicking
the ball back and forth to each other. Remember to use
the three sides of your feet.” She and Sam walked to each
child, helping them to practice the new skill, providing e
ncouragement and correcting if necessary. “Okay, great
work! Let’s take a break and get some water.”

After the break, Reye spoke again, the kids sur
rounding her. “In soccer, you have to run and run, and
run, and then run some more. So, in order for us to get used to running, we have to practice running, right? So
every day after our drills, we are going to form a line and
run. I’ll be the running leader this time and you all can
follow me, but after this, one of you will be the running
leader. This will be our way of getting in shape and getting used to running. Are we ready?”

“Yes,” the kids said in unison. She took off and they
all followed behind her. If any one fell behind, she would
either slow down or fall back to help. At the end of practice Reye demonstrated several drills to help their bodies
cool down. Before they left, she said, “We need a name
for our team, so by next week, I want to hear some of
your suggestions.”

After all of the children had gone, Sam helped Reye
pack up her cones and other equipment.

“You are great with those kids, Reye. I do believe you
have found your calling. Who would have thought it was possible?”

“If that’s your version of a compliment, I’ll take it. Thanks for helping me today.”

“You know, you could ask that boyfriend of yours to
help you. He’s not as good as me, but he would do in a
pinch.”

“He’s not my boyfriend, and anyways, he’s busy with
law school right now.”

* * *

Stephen sped through the night after having spent an
exhausting day at school. He needed to go home and get
some sleep, but instead he was once again headed to
Reye’s. This attraction was troublesome, and exorcising
her from his system wasn’t working like he’d expected. In
fact, quite the opposite, it had began to mean more, encompassing more than just sex. The more he had
gotten to know her, the more he liked her. She was com
passionate, loving, spunky, and supportive. She excited
him, moved him, and sated him like no other so far.
Could he see a future for them? Was he even ready to
settle down? He admitted she was the first that’d held his
attention for this long, but that didn’t mean she would be
the last.