Reye's Gold (21 page)

“Well, let’s spend a little more time working on
playing our positions and then we can stop for the day. Let’s also thank Mr. Sam for helping us again today.”

“Thank you, Mr. Sam,” they sang out loudly, and of
course Mr. Sam ate the attention up, the ham, bending
at the waist like a Japanese samurai soldier.

“You’re welcome,” he shouted back.

As usual, Reye waited until all of the kids had been
picked up by their parents. Shane stood next to her,
silent, his standard operating procedure. “Where are your
folks?” she asked looking down at him. He shrugged his
shoulders, looking dejected. Shane’s parents made her
crazy. They never returned any of her calls and she’d only
seen the mother pick him up, never stopping long
enough to introduce herself. She just drove by and picked
u
p Shane like you’d pick up a hamburger from the
McDonald’s drive-thru line.

“Is your mother coming today?” she asked. He shrugged his shoulders. “Do you know how to get
home?” Shane nodded.

“Can you show me, if I drive you?” He nodded again.
“Remember to use words, Shane,” she said, looking
down at him.

“Yes,” he said. Her Shane was a man of few words.

“Okay, grab your soccer ball and I’ll give you a ride
home.” He helped her load up her truck, and they both got in. “Seat belt on, bud,” she said, and he reached for
his and locked it. “Where do I go from here?” Reye fol
lowed his directions to his home. It was a small house
painted white, a little run down, but clean. It was about
two miles from the center. They got out and walked to
the door, which Shane unlocked using a key he kept
tucked in his pocket. Just as he started to walk in, they
turned to see a car pull into the driveway. She and Shane
stopped as Joe, of all people, Joe from Stephen’s soccer
team and fraternity, jumped out of his car and stormed
toward them.

“What are you doing here with my nephew?” Reye
took a step back. “I’m his coach, we had soccer practice
today and his mother didn’t pick him up on time. I
couldn’t just leave him there, so I gave him a ride home.
I didn’t mind,” she said, talking quietly and looking over at Shane, smiling weakly. Joe turned away from them,
looking out at the street, taking a deep breath, reigning
in his temper.

“
Hey, buddy, why don’t you go inside and let me talk
to your coach,” he said to Shane.

“Okay. Bye, Ms. Reye,” the child said softly.

“Bye, Shane,” she said, ruffling his hair. After Shane
closed the door, Joe spoke. “Look, my sister was supposed
to pick him up, but she’s been having a lot of problems
lately. I don’t live here, but I try to help them out when I
can.”

“No problem,” she said. Reye turned and walked to
her car.

“Look, I’m sorry. I was worried about Shane. My
sister has had her share of problems in the past, we both
have, and she’s been acting strange lately. I panicked
when I couldn’t find him.”

“No worries,” she said. “Like I said, I couldn’t leave him there alone.”

“Thank you,” he said as if saying those words to her
actually caused him physical pain.

That must have hurt,
she thought. “You’re welcome,”
she said.

* * *

Reye pulled up to her home, drained. Never in her
wildest dreams would she have put Shane with Joe. Small
world, huh? How could someone so hateful have a hand
in raising that shy, kind boy? Stephen hadn’t arrived yet
and she was thankful. She needed a shower and a
moment to process her encounter with Joe, knowing she
couldn’t discuss it with Stephen. Who knew what that
w
ould do to their non-relationship again? Letting herself in, Reye surveyed her home. She was happy that she’d
cleaned up before going over to her parents’ for
Thanksgiving. She walked toward the bathroom, strip
ping as she went. Standing under the spray of the shower,
she let the hot water course down her body, rinsing away
the last of her worries about Joe and Shane. She’d just
turned off the water in the shower when the doorbell
rang. Grabbing her robe, she went to answer it. She
peeked through the peephole and there stood Stephen.
She opened the door and stood there for a second,
admiring him. He looked great, dressed casually in jeans
and a plain, long-sleeved t-shirt that cuddled a beauti
fully shaped chest and led upward to a lean, angular face.
Lips she loved and felt even in her sleep and deep blue
eyes that looked back at her.

“Can I come in, or you just going to stand there and
stare?” he asked, displaying that wicked smile of his. “I know you missed me, but you have to let me in to show
me how much,” he continued, chuckling.

“You are so full of yourself,” she said with a laugh.
“That may be so, but you love it.”

If you only knew
, she thought. “Come in,” she said, moving over to allow him entrance before asking, “How
was your drive back?”

“Fine,” he said, reaching for the belt that held her
robe closed. His eyes locked on hers while he closed and
locked the door behind him, never breaking his hold on
her. He pulled her to him as he walked backward until
his back touched the door. Pulling the belt apart, he
o
pened her robe. She was naked underneath—smooth
brown skin over a perfect body had him catching his
breath, same as always. He moved his eyes from her face to travel down her neck to her beautiful breasts, made
uniquely for his hands. He touched them softly, rever
ently, lightly skimming the pads of his fingers over them.
He heard her breathing change, become ragged. His eyes
continued their downward perusal, over her waist, which
flared out to nice rounded hips, his hands followed,
resting on the part of her that he wanted now, moving to
touch her, opening her. Returning to look at her face, his
eyes watched as hers closed and she moaned. He leaned into her lips for a kiss, so soft, lightly touching them with his, and then spearing her mouth with his tongue to seek
and find hers. He moaned now, his hand continuing its play between her legs.

“I missed this,” he whispered softly. His other hand
moved to her waist and he pulled her flush against him.
His mouth opened more, devouring hers. He walked her
backwards to her bedroom, breaking the kiss as he
removed his shirt first. She stood immobile as he unbuttoned his pants and chucked them, along with his boxers and shoes. She looked at his now-naked chest and leaned
over to suck a nipple.

“I missed you, too,” she said to him, looking into his
eyes again as she removed her robe, letting it fall to the
floor. He took her hand, leading her over to her bed
where he sat, pulling her onto his lap as he lay back. She
straddled him, leaning forward to kiss him again. Placing
h
is hand on her hips, he lifted her and positioned her
over him, pulling her downward slowly. One of his hands
moved to her chin, to secure it and hold her face in place;
he wanted to see her face when he entered her. He
pushed his hips upward, watching her eyes lose focus as
they both groaned at the pure pleasure of him in her. He
began to slowly move in and out of her body. She tried to
meet him, to force him to give her more, but he refused,
holding her tightly as he set this pace. He would not be
rushed, had waited too long for her. He watched her as she sat up and leaned back, her head rolling backward,
from side to side, absorbed by the luxurious feel of him. She climaxed quickly, it hitting her before she was prepared. “Oh, Stephen,” she sighed as her head fell to rest on his chest.

He stood, lifting her with him, securing her legs
around his waist. Then he lowered her back to the bed,
pulling out completely before pushing back into her,
hard. Gone were the soft, slow thrusts from a few min
utes ago, replaced by a fierce rhythm that moved her up
towards the headboard. She planted her feet and pushed
back, equally forceful and strong, meeting him thrust for thrust. His lips grabbed hers and didn’t let go, feeling her
climax begin again as she gripped him harder. He
couldn’t wait, frantic in his quest to reach his climax, pumping into her, feeling her shudder as he came, his
body tensed over and in hers and he gave himself over to
one powerful climax. He held himself in her, then fell
forward on her to lay there. He knew he needed to move,
b
ut he was wiped. Reye wrapped her legs and arms
around him and held on, energized by the feel of him on
top of her, one heavy and thoroughly used male.

“Maybe you should go away more often,” she said to
him. He lifted his head, looking down at her. She read
satisfaction on his face, evident in the droopy eyelids and the self-satisfied smile he gave her.

“I don’t think my body could survive many home
comings like this,” he said as he rolled to his side taking
her along with him and folding her into his body. “But,
I’m glad I came back early, too.”

The first week of December marked the end of the
semester for Reye. The law school ended later than most of
the other disciplines, so she was at loose ends while Stephen
studied for finals. To keep occupied, she spent a lot of time
at the center filling in for other volunteers that needed time off, and working with her kids in soccer. She was worried about Shane. He’d completely stopped attending both the
after-school program and soccer practices. Dismayed by
the prospect of him falling behind, she knew she needed to visit his home, to find out what was up, and soon. He had
made such good progress, academically and socially.

“One more semester and I’m done,” Stephen said to
Reye. He was sitting on the floor with her positioned
between his legs, her back to his chest, watching a movie.
Yesterday he’d taken his last final and tomorrow he was
leaving to spend the Christmas break with his family.

“You should be proud of yourself,” she said.

“So should you, with your work at the center and
with your soccer team.”

“Thanks.”

“When are you going to your parents’?”

“Sam and I are going over Christmas Eve, but I’m coming back here the day after Christmas. See that stack of books on the floor?” she asked, pointing to a moun tain of about ten or so books sitting in the corner of the room. “Well, you can picture me here, snuggled up and
reading them. I’m so looking forward to some alone time,
to run, relax, and sleep.” She turned and smiled at him.
“Someone keeps me up most nights, so I’m really looking
forward to having the bed to myself.” She paused. “I am
going to miss you, though,” she added more seriously.
She considered asking him to come back early, or inviting
him to meet her parents, but decided against it. If she had
to ask, it wouldn’t be right.

“I’ll be back before you know it,” he said.

“Don’t worry about me, I’ll be busy.” She turned her
attention back to the movie.

* * *

Reye woke up early on Christmas morning, just like
old times. What child hadn’t gotten up at the crack of
dawn to check out the goods Santa had left for them? She
and Sam had spent the night at their parents’ home. Her
other brothers would be there later on in the evening, she
hoped in time for dinner. She heard a knock on her door
and sat up. Sam entered, attired in a t-shirt and pajamas
bottoms, just like old times.

“Ready to see what Santa brought you?” he asked, sit
ting on the foot of her bed.