“David, I don’t know what to say.”
“How about, thank you.”
I was speechless. No one has ever bought something so beautiful and expensive for me.
“David this had to costs you a whole lot of dough.”
He smiled.
“I work hard so that I can splurge on the people I care about,” he said winking at me.
It was sweet but I couldn’t keep it. It made me feel uneasy. I pushed my seat back and stood from the table. I walked over and leaned down wrapping my arms around him.
“Thank you so much David,” I said sitting the box back on the table. “But I can’t accept it.”
He looked a little confused and hurt.
“Why not?”
I could tell that I had offended him. That was never my intention but I didn’t deserve something like this.
“It’s…,” I didn’t know how to explain it to him.
He grabbed the box and placed it in my hand.
“I want you to have it Hannah. You’ll hurt my feelings if you don’t take it.”
I sighed.
“You know I don’t want anything for my birthday. Stacey honors my wishes why don’t you?”
He looked at me and I saw something in his eyes that caused me to pause. It was only there for a second but it was there.
“You mean a lot to me babe.”
He looked at me with those clear blue eyes and my heart melted.
I held out the box and my wrist to him.
“Can you do the honors and put it on me?”
“After I put this on you, can I put something else on you?”
You give him an inch and he takes a mile.
I punched him in the arm and he chuckled.
“Just put the bracelet on.”
He snapped the bracelet on then he placed his lips on my wrist and kissed me softly. When he was done he looked up at me. There was no laughter only a look of pure unadulterated desire.
It shook me a little and I pulled my wrist from his grasp.
We were quiet for a minute and then we began to eat again. I had finished my sandwich and looked over to see his pile of food had diminished quite a bit. There was still a plate of onion rings though.
“Are you going to eat those?”
He laughed and slid the plate over to me.
“I knew you couldn’t stay away.”
We finished our lunch and David paid the bill. We climbed into his SUV and headed down the street to my condo.
The ride to my apartment was quiet for some reason. I looked at him and his midnight blue eyes were trained on the road. I could not help but notice that he seemed bigger this season.
His arms were massive and the shirt that he was wearing highlighted every ripple and every muscle in his chest. It took everything I had not to jump on him right then and there.
“What are you staring at?” he asked finally looking over at me when we pulled up to a red light.
“Have you put on weight?”
He laughed focusing back on the road as the light turned green.
“Are you calling me fat now?” he asked still with a smile on his face.
I shook my head.
“No. I’m just saying that you look more…muscular this season.”
That prompted him to laugh even harder.
“I have been working out a little extra. Have to stay in shape. With all the rookies coming in from the draft, I have to make sure I solidify my starting position on the team. But I don’t think I have gotten that much bigger.”
I continued to look at him as he drove me home. It had become much more difficult lately not to see him as a man I would like to have in my bed.
I tried to keep my new found emotions from Stacey.
She knew my lifestyle and my struggle to stay faithful. She knew I was not looking for a commitment from anyone. Stacy loved me like a sister but her little brother was off limits.
Lately it has been hard to honor her wishes. Yet, I loved Stacy enough to focus on my other prospects and there were always plenty to choose from.
He finally noticed that I was still watching him.
“What?”
“Nothing,” I answered and began to stare out of the window.
We pulled into the parking lot of my condominium complex and parked in the front.
He turned off the ignition and climbed out. I followed suit wondering why he was getting out of the car. I adjusted my shirt and stood there with one hand on my hip.
“Where are you going?”
He walked over to me.
“I’m a gentleman and I always walk a lady to her door.”
I eyed him suspiciously. It wasn’t strange that he was walking me to my door but he seemed like he had something on his mind.
I let him walk with me eyeing him the entire way. I stayed on the first floor of the complex and never really felt comfortable. I just felt like the first floor made me an easy target for a burglar. Yet my place was so much nicer than the ones on the upper levels.
I opened the door to my condo and he followed me inside. I tossed my keys on the coffee table and took a seat on the couch eyeing him.
I wondered what he was up to.
He closed the door and sat down on the couch next to me placing his arm on the back.
“Come on spill it,” I said. “I know you have something to say to me.”
He sighed and then he looked me squarely in the eyes.
“You slept with Jonas?”
Damn! I knew that he knew. I have just been waiting for the other shoe to drop. It was a matter of time. Plus I didn’t do a good job of covering my tracks very well.
“Um...,” I stammered.
I looked at him. The laughter was gone from his eyes. I could tell he was upset. I had broken my promise to him.
“David, I know you are upset…,”
“Yes, I’m upset. I thought we had a deal. You wouldn’t mess around with guys on my team.”
I sighed.
“David I don’t know what to say. I’m sorry.”
He ran his fingers through his hair
“Jonas is an asshole.”
“I thought you were friends,” I remarked.
“Yes, we are, but he has a big mouth. How do you think I know about you two? He has been bragging to everyone on the team about how good you are in bed. It took everything I had not to fucking kill him.”
He looked really upset with me. It was a shock to me because he has never really been angry with me.
“David, don’t be mad at me?”
He placed his hand on my knee.
“Look babe, I’m upset, but I don’t think you understand why I’m upset.”
“David, I get it.”
I knew he didn’t want me dating players. He didn’t think some of them had my best interest in mind.
He continued to stare at me with this worried look on his face.
“I don’t think you do babe. I overheard Jonas talking about some chick he fucked in the men’s bathroom. As a guy, I listened. That was until he told me it was you. How do you think I feel hearing some guy talk about you like a piece of meat?”
I guess he was right. I don’t want to put him in that position.
“I’m sorry David.”
“Why do you insist on messing around with these men that only want one thing from you?”
He sounded a lot like his sister. She has been on my case lately. I was fine with what I was doing.
“Who says that I want more from them?”
He slid closer to me on the couch.
“You deserve more, babe.”
“David I don’t deserve as much as you think I do.”
He reached over and placed his hand on my knee.
“You have that backwards. You deserve ten times as much as YOU think that you do. You sell yourself short so much. I don’t think that I have ever met a woman that would not accept a birthday gift.”
I know that he didn’t understand why I didn’t want his gift. I had been through so much on that day that I just don’t want to celebrate it. It was much more than what he thought.
“David…,”
He held up his hand to stop me from speaking.
“Babe, it kills me that you feel like all you deserve is a one night stand.”
“David, there are so many people out there that just want to hook up. I am not the only one.
“I don’t care about anyone else. Let them do what they want to do. You don’t need to do that. You have a man here who loves you and wants to take care of you. Why would you settle for less?”
When the words left his mouth I saw his eyes shift. He slipped up and he knew it. I stared at him trying to determine if he was joking or trying to tell me something.
I had a man that loved me? Did he just say that?
My heart started to beat rapidly and my mind began to race.
“David what are you talking about?”
He looked at me and sighed running his fingers through his hair.
“I love you Hannah.”
He said that like it was a bad thing.
“David, I love you too.”
He shook his head.
“No babe,” he said grabbing me by the shoulders and staring into my eyes.
“I’m in love with you.”
I was speechless. The confused frown on my face said it all.
His hands reached over and he began to stroke my hair. He leaned down close to my ear. He took the lobe in his mouth and began to lick and suck on it.
He whispered in my ear.
“I am so in love with you.”
I jerked back and looked him in his eyes. The look of concern I saw was gone and was filled with desire and passion.
I had never seen him look at me like this before. It was making me hot.
“I know why men want you. I get it. You ooze a sex appeal that is unmatchable. I have lost all ability to resist anymore and honestly, I don’t care.”
He leaned in and softly kissed me on the lips. Then he came back completely claiming my lips for his own. I was too shocked to do anything.
I was lost in his kiss. He smelled so good and tasted even better. I wrapped my arms around his neck taking him in with little hesitation. His hands slid up my shirt caressing my stomach and then my breasts through my shirt.