I had held my phone in my hand for the last twen-ty minutes with only one thing on my mind, and that was to call Emma and apologize for what had happened last night. I had managed to grab her card from Mason. The stripper was good, real good at stripping. But I'd lost track of what she was doing, thinking about Emma in my house. She had really brought it all back home. The girl that I'd met when I dropped my big sister at college-and hadn't stopped thinking about since then-had walked back into my life. That wasn't something you forgot about in a heartbeat. My parents used to tease me about wanting to go to see my big sis at college all the time. Sure, Sophia and I were close when she was at home. She used to drop me at practice and all that kind of considerate stuff that a big sister would do. But when I first met Emma, she felt like she had put me under her spell or something. I just wanted to go back to that col-lege every damn weekend. Now I thought about it, Emma was my inspira
"Why did I agree to this?" I had asked Mason the same question when we left the house and again as we sat in the car. But I had to ask him one more time as we sat on the plane. I was supposed to be resting before the next season, and so far my best friend had me doing eve-rything but rest.He whispered, as he looked around the plane as though someone might be interested in our conversation, "You know why. You were sitting there this morning, just staring at the doc's card. And let's not even get started what happened with the stripper." He held his head down in shame. "A hot, sexy stripper and you were dead man. You think I didn't know?" I shook my head. "You're dead down there and if anything can wake you back up, it's Vegas."He patted me on the leg as if it was as simple as that. I didn't even want to go out of town for a day, let alone a weekend, because on Monday Mom would get the results of her biopsy and I wanted to know once and for all if the cancer was back or not. "Ev
"Strippers, again!" I said as soon as we were in our suite of the Wynn Las Vegas Casino Hotel. Mason must have shares in strip joints or something 'cause he never seemed to have a problem booking one. "What's up with you?" I play-punched Mason to let him know that I was thinking more about the adrena-line of losing money and winning on the tables. About drinking too much and perhaps flirting with the odd girl. Seeing another stripper just brought Emma to mind. It had made me laugh when Mia accused Emma of having work done. When I used to visit Sophia in college, every guy wanted a piece of Emma. Even since she was nine-teen, she had those same big boobs and ass to match. Shit, I knew it was all natural and as a teen, I was hot for her. I was young, and she was like this goddess that used to share a room with my sister. Back then she had glasses and whenever she used to sway her long dark hair back to get it out of her eyes, it only made my crush even worse. Now I was all grown up
"This is crazy; you know that, right?"Sophia nodded as we stood in line to check into the Wynn. The place was wild; from the number of guests that were checking in to the tiled multi-colored flooring, it was a place to have fun. I just didn't see why we had to come here and couldn't just wait until the weekend was over. Why did she insist on us coming to act as her baby brother's sitter? I was a doctor, not a babysitter!She asked me one question; "You ever been to Ve-gas?" When I told her that I hadn't, she'd insisted that we came to rescue her brother. I had never been to Ve-gas, and I hated to admit how naive I felt coming here. I never expected it to be like this, but then I suppose that's why everyone gets wild in Vegas. It wasn't because it was a quiet destination; it was the complete opposite. The lighting in the reception was unreal. I felt like a kid visiting the candy store for the first time. They had lights on the walls which looked as if they were spitting fire.
What was it about the roulette table? Even when you don't want women to hang around you, they see you winning, and they swarm around you like bees to honey. It was only nine, so it was pretty early for Vegas. I had been to Vegas a few times, so I knew my way around. But no matter how much they updated the hotel, the people never changed.Mason was acting suspicious; checking out his phone all the time. Then he'd be looking around as if he was on the lookout for someone. I was just about to ask him if the stripper-or strippers, if Mason had hired one for all of us-were due to meet us at the table or some-thing. But then Paul won and was jumping up and down as if he had made a touchdown. In the midst of it all, I saw who Mason was looking out for as I saw Sophia ap-proaching our table slowly. My eyes darted in his direc-tion, but he ignored me."Who won? Who won?" Sophia said I ignored her question. "What are you doing here?""Me?" she asked innocently while putting her ha
I took a deep breath, wondering what I'd got my-self into. I should tell Sebastian that this wasn't going to happen, I hated losing, and most of all I hated casinos. I had a feeling that he knew exactly what was going to happen next; I had been naive thinking that I had the up-per hand. As they called for the last bidder I wondered if Sebastian knew that he was about to win. "You're not tricking me are you?"Sebastian smirked, wordlessly answering my ques-tion, which should in itself have made me want to leave the table. But my feet felt as if they were stuck in quick-sand as curiosity got the better of me. Sophia's brother had filled out and was so fucking hot. Like too hot. He was once a spotty little kid that used to hang on to my every word. That was back when we'd first met, when Sophia was my roommate back in college. Since then he'd filled out, and judging by the tight biceps that were holding onto me, in more places than one.I could smell his strong musk, and as I tu
"Hey, so what's up with you and the doc?" Kent said as he tried to snap the chips out of my hand. I avoided his grip. "You want your money back; then you're going to have to win it. Like winners do, not losers." He passed me a glass of champagne that the wait-ress had just given him, along with her number. Yep, the big bad giant boys were in town. "Give that to Paul!" I titled my head disapprovingly. I had admired Mia and Kent for being in a relationship, and now Kent was going to act like some dog and cheat on her. Not cool; not cool at all. Sure, I knew that plenty of players did it, but that was their business; none of them were my close friends. Besides, Paul was single and it didn't matter if he hooked up with nearly every waitress in Vegas; there wasn't anyone back home waiting for him."What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas!" Kent said as he slipped a couple of my chips into his pocket. Now I was acting like my mom as I took my chips out of his greedy hands. I wa
"My, my, my, we are really serious," I sighed as I made to sit next to her. Then she darted to the Red, White, and Blue machine, as if her odds were better on those slots. She didn't realize that she was a winner al-ready. Maybe not on the slots, but with me later on. "Wow, you're going for gold! Trying to figure out which one has the biggest payout. Do you have your room card?" She nodded. "Sure when we checked in, it was my first question.""How to win on the slots? Really?" She laughed, "You know when I do find a ma-chine; you're playing too. I'm not doing all this research for nothing."I wasn't a slot-machine kind of guy. I didn't mind watching her, but the whole idea of participating didn't appeal to me. "You can't just sit and watch me!"I think my stare gave her the impression that I could. She didn't wait for a response, so I blurted out, "The problem with slot machines is the fact that they don't feature the best payback." I just wanted to warn her in cas
Four months la-ter...I woke up to an empty bed and pouted as I sat up, the sheets sliding off my naked body."Bastard," I grumbled, slipping off the bed. "You could have woken me up."I wasn't really annoyed with him, though. I knew he had an important game today or he wouldn't have woken up so early without me. I went to the bathroom for a shower, then hurried to get dressed. Picking clothes was becoming harder, though. For the moment, my dresses were still fine, but I knew I would have to buy some bigger clothes soon."You're growing really fast in there, aren't you," I murmured, rubbing my rounding belly.It had been a shock, finding out I was pregnant, for Mason and me both. It wasn't something we planned, we just got careless with me missing my contraception, but when the news came, I wasn't as against it as I would have thought. I had always felt uneasy at the thought of a little person growing inside me. Not so much because it would be uncomfortable or because I was w
With a groan, I rolled to the side, so I wasn't crushing Sophia, hissing when my soft, sensitive cock slipped out of her. I kept my arms around her, rolling her with me, holding her close to my chest.My whole body felt exhausted. My chest wanted to heave for every breath, but I controlled it, taking in slow deep breaths to get my lungs to stop screaming at me. I probably stopped breathing near the end there.Shit, I really did let myself go if I can't even do this without breathing hard. Maybe I really should be going to my physiotherapy sessions...?I sighed as my eyes slid closed, my body relaxing. I couldn't remember the last time I was this content. I slept just fine when I was alone, in fact, I was asleep more than I was awake these past weeks, but it was often fitful. I went to sleep in a bad mood and woke up in a bad mood, making myself more and more depressed eve-ry day. Besides, having a warm body close again to me felt amazing."Mason?"I heard Sophia call my name,
I slumped back against the door as I panted, trying to catch my breath. My legs felt weak, the one I had around Mason's hip trembling. I knew I couldn't keep the stance I had for long, but Mason wasn't moving, ei-ther, and he was still inside me, so I couldn't bring my-self to move."Are you going to move or what?" I huffed once I caught my breath, pushing lightly over his shoulder.Mason took a deep breath, then chuckled. "Yeah, I'm moving."Slowly, he pulled himself back. My breath I hitched as his softening cock spilled out of me, Mason letting out a hiss."Sensitive?" I guessed.He nodded, sighing as he reached down to tuck himself back into his pants."Are you gonna let me go, too, or...?" he teased, arching an amused eyebrow.I moved my leg from around his hips, holding on tightly to his shoulder as I put my foot on the ground. It was a good thing I was holding onto him because when I got both feet on the ground, my legs buckled."Shit."How long had it been sin
Fuck.Sophia was one of the last people I wanted to see at the front of my door because I knew how stubborn she could be when she put her mind to it. I didn't want her there for a lot of reasons. I was embarrassed at how I'd let myself go, at how quickly I'd changed in such a short time. I also wasn't ready to face the world and people again, and I didn't know if I would ever be ready. Hell, I hadn't spoken to my own family yet, and I didn't see that happening any time soon.What do I do...?When I decided to lock myself away, I'd had a plan. And in this plan, once I felt I could pick myself up and give life a try again, I would reconnect with the peo-ple I was currently pushing away. If I had to be honest to myself, Sophia wasn't only on the list, but among one of the first people I would reach out to, besides my parents and even above my best friend. Sophia was Sebastian's sister, but if she really stopped talking to me, I knew that bastard wouldn't help me. No matter how
He flattened his lips and looked away. I wasn't sure whether or not to be relieved. On the one hand, he wasn't trying to push me away, but on the other, he wasn't exactly inviting me in. Could I assume he was wavering? Or would it just make it easier for him to send me away when he wasn't looking at me?I sighed audibly, and he turned back to look at me. His expression wasn't any more inviting, though."Have you been eating okay?" I asked. "And I mean a real, homemade meal, Mason. I can cook you dinner?"It was the only thing I could bribe him with. I wouldn't make chef of the year, but my food was good, and Mason never had a problem with my food.He didn't answer immediately, raising my hopes.Then he killed them just as quickly when he shook his head. At least, until he spoke."I don't need you to cook for me, Sophia. I'm fine with what I have to eat right now.""Take out?" I guessed. "Frozen foods?"His gaze moved away at the latter, and I frowned at him. I was tempt
I was a little intimidated by the glare Mason had aimed at me, but I wasn't going to back down. Besides, I knew he wasn't going to hurt me, anyway. Not just be-cause of our past, but because he wasn't the kind of guy that got off on beating other people up, even when they were annoying."I came to visit you," I said, tilting my chin up and giving him a stubborn frown. "Now move aside and let me in."He let out a little, sardonic laugh. "Aren't you a bit forward for someone that just came to visit?" he chal-lenged, not moving an inch. "Make me move, Sophia. It's the only way you're coming in here."I frowned at him. I hadn't forgotten he was about as stubborn as I was. It was the only reason I had left him alone this long when I knew he was doing something stupid. Too soon and he would just send me away again, too long and I might be late in providing any sort of help.I might have waited too long already, I thought to myself in worry.He didn't let me see a thing inside befor
It would be a lie to say I didn't mind. I wasn't in the mood to see anyone, but how long had it been since I left the hospital? I had been alone in all that time, and I'd been a people person before. I had a feeling being alone was only making me even more depressed, but I didn't feel like doing a thing about it, either. I had friends, and if none of them were going to reach out to me, in my current condition, I didn't have the confidence to be the one to reach out to them."Now I really need that beer," I grumbled to my-self, leaning forward, bracing my hands on the couch to push myself up.With a grunt, I rose to my feet. I stayed in place a little, but that was just because I'd been sitting too long. I'd moved to the couch with a six pack because I thought it would be enough for me. I'd been sitting since I woke up sometime mid-morning, and I hadn't moved much in the hours since then. My ass must have fallen asleep, because it ached a little, too, and I winced as I rubbed it and
Two years later...It was still fucking daytime, but with all the cur-tains closed and windows covered, the room looked dark. Not that I gave a damn what time it was outside, because I didn't plan on leaving my home.There was a part of me that was angry for locking myself in, and feeling sorry for myself. I still wouldn't leave the house, though.I didn't have the courage to leave, after all. Not anymore."Fuck, this is boring," I grumbled, drinking the last of my beer, then crushed the can and tossed it in my trashcan. The can went in, and I smirked, but it quickly dropped with a sigh as my eyes turned back to the TV. "If they're gonna show this kind of play to people, they at least need better players."Like me, I thought, then cast that thought away, too. It was a dangerous thought to have for me recently, but sometimes, I couldn't keep myself from wishing.I was watching a football game, and it was already in its last quarter. I wasn't on either side, but the team on t
We were walking down the tunnel from the locker room. It was the final game in the season. Just like Emma had said, nothing could go wrong. I was fit, and nothing was holding me back. The vacation was just what I had needed. Time away from here and to spend more time connecting with the one woman that I had loved practi-cally my whole life. She said that we had moved too fast; that we needed to take it slow, but love waited for no one and as I headed out into the bright lights of the field, I thought about her sitting in the stadium carrying our child. She was going to be a mom; the last few months had been hard for her. She was used to being a doctor. Worrying about her career and now she didn't know what was going to happen to that. I had kind of had an idea. She had been going to meetings, even conferences just to keep herself busy while I had been at games and practices. The idea of be-ing a stay-at-home mom felt too small for her. Something that she had never considered, but