Lady and the Champ(22)

Walking toward her, I grab her shoulders. There’s something more than guilt swimming in those greens. Longing. She doesn’t push me away when I squeeze her, fighting away the images of last night. I can’t let this one slip through my fingers.

“I thought we had a good time,” I continue in a more serious voice.

“We did, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to happen again.”

Yeah, right. There’s no denying the chemistry between us. All it’ll take is another visit to my house and her hands on my body.

Her nostrils flare. “Austin, it can’t.”

“Why the hell not?”

“For one thing, I could get sued for sexual harassment.”

I laugh so hard that women down the aisle glance at us. “If anything, you’re not harassing me enough.”

She grinds her teeth, clearly trying not to yell in front of the baby. “This could cost me my job.”

“They’re not going to fire the Champ’s favorite PT, no matter how many times we roll in the hay.”

“Enough with the damn euphemisms!” She gently pushes my hand aside, sucking in a breath. “Look, I like you. I do. But it’s not enough to throw away my professional integrity.”

“Doc, you’re way too wrapped up in your job. There are other things in life.”

Looking annoyed, she crosses her arms. “Gee, I had no idea.”

Smartass. “Sex with me is fun. Isn’t that worth something?”

She looks at me dead center. “It’s worth something. Not everything.”



Over the next few days, she keeps putting me off. I try to arrange another appointment at my house, and she claims she’s booked. I text her to see how she’s doing, and she says fine and nothing else. I send her another dick pic—and this one’s a work of art, let me tell you—and she doesn’t even bother to answer.

Finally I ask her if she can meet me at the stadium while the team is there for practice, and this time I get a confirmation.

Fine. If that’s the way she wants to play it, I’m game.

So when she comes to meet me in the locker room, I’m naked except for a tiny hand towel that I can barely wrap around my waist. Basically my entire ass is hanging out, and the towel is secured by a super small knot in the back and whatever support it’s getting from my junk. “Precarious” doesn’t even cover it.

“Hi!” I say to her, and her face goes bright red.

“Why do you keep doing this?” Her voice is low, even though she and I are the only people in the locker room at the moment. Though anyone could walk in at any time—a fact I’m all too aware of. The possibility of getting caught adds to the fun.

“Doing what?” I spread both arms as I ask the question, and she winces as if she thinks the towel is going to pop off at any second. Which, to be honest, it just might.

“Trying to embarrass me.”

“Why would you be embarrassed?” I turn to grab my water bottle out of the locker, deliberately showing her my bare ass. “It’s not like you haven’t seen all this before.” I turn back. “Touched it. Had it inside you.”

She glances back and forth as if she thinks somebody might be listening. “Stop it, Sherwood.”

“What’s wrong?” I hesitate, reading her face. “Is that why you wanted to meet here?” I’ve done this math already, but I want to see what she says about it. Plus I’m irritated she’s pushing me away. I thought we had something going, even if it was just going to be a fling. I like flings. Flings are fun.

“What do you mean?” Her face is still bright red, so I’m pretty sure I’m barking up the right tree.

“You wanted to meet here because you’re afraid if we meet at my place, we’ll end up fucking. Again.”

She takes a step closer, still acting like she thinks there might be somebody else in the locker room. “Will you keep it down?” she hisses.

I don’t keep it down. I keep talking in a normal tone of voice. I like seeing her flushed and flustered. It turns me on. Which might make it easier to keep the towel in place. Or might make it fall right off. I’m not sure which is the more likely scenario.

“So you think if we’re here there’s no way we’ll have sex? Do you not remember the other day in the hot tub?”

“We didn’t have sex in the hot tub.”

“We came damn close.” I take a step toward her and reach for her elbow, but she jerks back.

“Austin, please. Put some clothes on. Anybody could walk in and see us in here and if they do, they might jump to conclusions. I don’t need that right now.”

I wonder if maybe she had another run-in with somebody at work. I really need to find out who in her office is giving her shit and do something about it. Like punch the guy in the teeth.

“Okay, fine.” I turn back to the locker and pull out a pair of underwear. Without warning her to turn around, I shed the towel and pull on the briefs. They’re black, made of some kind of stretchy Lycra shit. With those on, I might as well be naked. They’re the kind of material that’s so tight you can tell if a guy’s circumcised if you look close enough.

Right now I’m about three-quarters hard, and you can damn near see the veins on my dick outlined against the Lycra. Chloe gives me a hard look right at my cock, which gets me to about seven-eighths.

“This isn’t what I meant,” she says, looking back into my face.

“I’m covered,” I tell her. I snap the elastic waistband, getting it into a more comfortable position.

She rolls her eyes and wheels around. That’s more like it. Chloe’s at her best when she’s pissed off and just doing her best to deal with my bullshit.

“We’re going to the hot tub,” she announces.

It’s pretty obvious when we get to the training room that the hot tub isn’t hot anymore. In fact, it’s been transformed into an ice bath. I take one look at it and give her my best “oh how you have betrayed me” look.

“You have got to be fucking kidding me.”

Her grin is far too pleased. Now I know what it’s like to be on the other end of that smug satisfaction. I don’t like it.

“Get in,” she says. “It’ll help. I promise.”

It’s not like it’s my first time in an ice bath, but it’s been a while, and I’ve never liked them. She’s right, though—sometimes it’s the best medicine. Steeling myself, I slide into the water, closing my eyes as the pain of the sheer iciness of it soaks in.

“So much for my great hard-on,” I mutter.

She laughs, but she’s gone red again.

I sit for a few minutes. Once I get used to the cold, it’s not so bad, and the pain in my lower back and my wrenched leg start to fade.

Finally Chloe says, “Is that better? Is there some improvement?”

“Yeah, it’s great,” I manage through chattering teeth. Then I swallow, get ahold of myself, and add, “It’s not nearly as good as that special therapy I got last time, though.”

Her teeth clack together as she clenches them in irritation. “That’s not going to happen again, Sherwood. I’m a professional. I can’t afford to be slipping up like that.”

I give her a narrow look. “I think it will happen again. I think you want it to happen again.”

“I don’t.”

“Then why do you keep looking at my dick like you want to lick it?”

She goes flame-red again and her brows draw together. “Stop it, Austin.”

I stand in the water; I’ve had about as much as I can take, and I know from experience that staying past a certain point doesn’t have any additional benefit.

“You do. You keep staring at it.” I glance down. “I mean, not much to stare at right now because of the cold, but I know we could get things raring to go again if we cooperated a little.”

I step out of the tub and grab a towel, scrubbing the cold off my belly and thighs. It’s going to be a while before I feel warm again. Especially with Chloe giving me that look. That look would have shriveled my balls even if I weren’t in an ice bath. And it’s not even an angry look. It’s just really, really serious and super intense.

“What?” I ask her, shivering and feeling like I’m a little kid who just came in from building snow forts. I can’t feel my toes. Or my dick. That can’t be good.

“What happened last time…” Oh, here we go. “It was fun and all, but it was a mistake. It can’t happen again.”

I should be able to just shrug that off, but for some reason I can’t. “Did somebody say something to you at work?”

She shakes her head sharply. “No, but you know it’s just a matter of time. Somebody will find out, and best case is that they take me off your case. Which would completely trash my reputation in the practice. Worst case, I lose my job.”

I study her face. She won’t meet my gaze. There’s more to this, and I’m pretty sure I know what it is.

“You’re worried about more than just your job.”

Her eyes flick back and forth again. I don’t know who she thinks might be here—it’s just her and me, and I’m sure that’s why she had us meet here in the first place. “Isn’t that enough?”