“Thank you,” Odell says, as he pulls her chair out.
“Your waiter will be here momentarily.”
“So to what do I owe this honor?” I ask Odell.
“Could be any number of things,” she answers. “For one, we haven't spent much time together since I've been so stressed lately.”
I just nod.
“And besides, I am taking you away from your post-game celebration with your team,” she says. “I have to make it worth your while.”
“Time spent with you is always worth my while,” I answer. “But I thought you preferred to spend most of that time in the bedroom.”
“Isn't that what you wanted, too?” she asks, looking down at her plate.
“Sure. But things can change sometimes, I guess.” I'm the one looking down now.
“Yes,” she says, “they certainly can.”
We're interrupted, or saved depending how you look at it, by the waiter.
“Can I offer you something to drink? Wine?” he says.
“I'll just have an iced tea,” Odell says. “But you go ahead and get whatever you’d like, Gryphon.”
I look at her, before ordering wine. He leaves menus.
“You still not feeling too well?”
“No, but that’s not important right now,” she says. “I’d rather not talk about it.”
“No problem,” I say. I can tell she’s getting tense by the way her full, sexy lips are pressing together. “Would you rather talk about your work?” I venture. It’s worse. She looks up at the ceiling and her mouth crumples a bit.
“Oh jeez, Odell. I just thought you would prefer to talk about something good, like being the new superstar at the firm.”
That’s it. She looks completely downcast. She puts her head in her hands. “Let’s talk about us,” she finally squeaks out.
“Oh Lord, Odell, is that why you brought me here? To have the define the relationship talk?” She nods, still looking down at her plate. “Look,” I finally say. I realize she must be under enormous pressure, and I’ve only been adding to pressure on her the last few times we were together by trying to push for something more. Looking at her right now, I know I can’t resist her body, or her soul, even if it’s just given to me a night at a time. “Hey, if you want to take it casual, that’s fine,” I say. “We can see other people and, just you know, be around when the other is around. It doesn’t have to be this whole big thing.” I smile bravely, thinking that she will finally be happy now. She’s gotta feel better with all the pressure off. But then I see it. Big salty tears falling onto her napkin, and little sniffles coming from her. Little sniffles that soon turn into sobs.
“But,” she starts. “But,” she starts again, but it’s swallowed in a sob.
“But what, Odell?”
“But, I’m pregnant!”
The last comes out a bit louder than one might expect, especially in a classy restaurant like this one. I’m speechless. Her sobs grow louder, and a waiter discreetly comes by with a stack of folded napkins. Odell grabs one, and gets up and runs to the bathroom.
Not sure what to do, I take a drink of my wine, smile at the people staring at me until they finally look away, and realize: I have to follow her.
23
Odell
I stand at the sink, trying to ebb the flow of tears, and wiping away the mascara streaks from my face. It’s so lovely in this bathroom, so quiet and serene, the crazed harridan that I see in the mirror just doesn't fit. Someone’s tapping on the door. “Just a minute,” I say, but they jiggle the knob. “One moment!”
“Odell, let me in,” I hear, and it’s the deep, low voice I’ve come to adore.
When I slide the door open, Griff rushes in and gives me the biggest hug I could ever imagine. I’m completely enveloped in his arms—pressed firmly against his massive body. It feels so good, so warm and relaxing, so enveloping, that I start crying again. I cry about the baby, about losing my job, about my parents not caring. I let all my feelings out in a torrent of tears, secure in Gryphon James' loving arms.
“I think I’m ruining your shirt,” I say as I finally pull back and look in his eyes. “All of my makeup is running.”
“This old rag,” he grins. But I can see there are tears in his eyes.
“Griff, are you crying too?” I ask.
“Nah, I think someone just farted some onions in here,” he answers, and we both laugh. Hard.
“Let’s get out of here, babe,” he says, wiping my eyes, and kissing me tenderly on the mouth.
He opens the door to a surprised face of an elderly lady who looks all the way up from his chest to his face.
“Excuse me,” she croaks. “Isn’t this the little girls' room?”
“Yes!” Gryphon says in a high voice, and I start laughing again.
Griff eases himself into bed, each move slow and careful, and I remember the devastating hit he took. “Oh my, Griff, do you want a painkiller?” I ask. “I’ve got some in the medicine chest.” “Nah, I’ll ride it out,” he says. “If I took painkillers every time I got hit, my stomach would be all ripped up.” I kiss him softly, and he puts an arm around me. “I don’t think I can do too much tonight Odell,” he says. “Will you let me stay if I can’t make you scream?”
I laugh. “Leave it to me,” I say, kissing down the length of his rippling muscles to the hard ‘v’, leading to his massive cock that that I love so much. It rises to meet my lips, and I give the head a few tentative licks before I wrap my fingers around its girth. He groans in pleasure, caressing my hair and ear with his hand.
If there’s one thing I’m crazy proud of, it’s my skills to pleasure a man when I want to. And after how he treated me tonight, I really want to. I trail my tongue around the corona of his cock, spending a little extra time on the knotted skin on the underside, earning his moan. My hand tightens around him and I work his shaft up and down. I go gently at first, following the movement of my hand with my mouth, taking him further and further inside my throat until I have every inch. My other hand caresses his sac, winning the groans that emanate deeply from his throat. “Odell,” he cries. I hum in response, translating the vibration from my throat to his dick, and he quivers in my mouth. He looks down at me, and I meet his eyes, as I take him in and suck the taut fullness of his cock. We continue until I can’t stand the anticipation anymore and I need him inside me. I position myself on top of him, wriggling my hips down to enrobe his stiff length, watching the tension in his face dissolve in a wave of pleasure. “My God Odell, you have the best pussy,” he whispers. “So sweet and wet and tight.”
“It’s yours,” I say, “all yours.” I’m gyrating on top of him, popping my hips a few times for good measure, before I lose my altruism and have to indulge myself on his cock. This only seems to please him more, and we’re both whispering each other’s names, flirting with orgasm before building up the pleasure again and again. Finally, it’s too much.
He puts his hand on my hip, and I ride him until I come, shimmying on his hard length. When I start to come again, I feel him tremble until he jerks his seed into me. The liquid makes us both so slick I come a third time.
I gently roll off as he winces.
“You ok, babe?” I ask.
“Yeah, still a little tender but I wouldn't give that up for the world,” he says. “How did you get so sexy, Odell?”
“I was born this way,” I joke.
Then his face goes suddenly serious. “So what are we going to do? What do you want to do?”
“Well, I'm going to keep her. Or him,” I say, knowing with all my heart that loving this baby is not only what I want, but what I need right now.
“Thank God,” he says. “I was hoping you'd say that.”
“And it's your choice, Gryphon, whether you want to be in the baby's life.” I'm terrified he'll say no, but it's a decision that he has to make for himself.
“Odell,” he says. “Do you want me to be in the baby's life?”
“Hell,” I say, “Not just the baby's life--I want you in my life.”
“I want that too, Odell,” he says softly. “You, me and our baby. And of course, eventually, the Super Bowl.”
The relief washes over me, and I lean over to kiss him deeply. “You'll make it there,” I tell him. “You have to, because I don't know how much money I'm going to be making in the next little while.”
“I'll make the money for now, and when you're a hot shot lawyer with your own practice, we can live off your salary and my investments.”
“That last part might be sooner than you realize, Gryphon,” I say, looking down.
He’s silent for a long moment. Then, “I hope you didn’t get in trouble for us dating?” he murmurs.
I’d rather not start our life together with a lie, so I answer carefully. “To tell the truth, it didn’t help,” I hedge. “But I’m not sure I’d be happy following in my dad’s footsteps for my whole life, or being in a law firm that doesn’t appreciate my hard work. It’s an option.” His sapphire eyes glow with love and concern, which makes me brave enough to ask, “Do you think that you and I can make it though? We have to face facts—we haven't known each other for all that long.”