Thirty-Day Lover

@lovelyl: Thank you for your continuous support, and the reviews look fine. XDD

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Thirty Day Lover - Chapter Five

News articles always liked to dub this team as a “young team” that’s filled with many potentials, be it for the all-star games, the world championships or the Olympics. When Christina was reading the files, their ages were just numbers to her. However, as of right now, their ages meant nightmares for her. The plane ride to the first road game destination should be about 5 hours long as they were covering the country from east to west. Even though they have their own private jet, it didn’t mean that it was any more comfortable than regular airplanes. Sure, the seats were a bit bigger, the space allowed more than movement of toes, and there were even places where she could lie down and curl up to sleep. However, all of these luxuries just didn’t feel like luxuries when these boys were practically having a bachelor’s party up in the air!

They left early in the morning in hopes to get a short skate in before the game tonight. And as always with plane rides, Christina counted on falling unconscious soon as she got on the plane and waking up when the plane has landed. This way, she felt no misery of being stuck in an immobile seat for hours and she could utilize the time wisely.

That is, until she met this group.

Situated at the very back of the plane, she had ventured from the front to the middle and finally to the back. The logic was this: if the buzzing of the plane could be loud enough to drown out these men’s voices, then she could sleep.

It didn’t help. The most she got was drifting in and out of consciousness.

Sometime between one drift and another, she woke up to find a light jacket on her. Frowning, she reached for it so she could at least know whom she should thank afterwards. The number 31 was imprinted on the breast pocket and she let her hand drop.

The culprit was sitting not far ahead of her playing poker with some other guys.

Ugh, the energy they have! It kills her!

With the time difference that they’ve managed to catch themselves in, the city was still quiet when they arrived. She had grabbed the jacket with one hand and swung her bag over her shoulder with the other. The first thing that she does when she gets her hands on the luggage that was checked in is to look for pain killers. That half-assed sleep session left her with a major headache, and she knew she was going to be bitchy.

Even more than usual.

“Morning, sunshine. Slept well?”

Ugh. She wanted to reply with. Instead, she made a couple of incoherent noises before extending the jacket to Hank. “Thanks, it kept me warm.”

He took it and looked at her from head to toe and then back up. “What’s wrong? Not feeling well?”

“No, just a headache.” She lifted her free hand to shield the sun from her eyes. This was another disadvantage of wearing glasses; she can’t wear her collection of sunglasses whenever and wherever! Oh and it really is a collection of sunglasses. “I don’t think my biological clock appreciates the travelling without preparations beforehand.”

“Ah, I see.” He stood next to her waiting for his luggage to arrive as well. “You’ll get used to it quick enough. You just need a good night’s sleep tonight and then tomorrow will be just like any other day.” Again, his positive attitude never fails to amaze her.

The belt brought down all the luggage from the stomach of the airplane. Another great thing about private jets was having the luggage come straight out to you instead of you having to take a long detour inside the airport. Needless to say, the team’s bus had already driven into the airport to meet them as well.

“Is that yours?”

“Mmm?” Christina turned her attention to Hank before having realized what he asked her. “Ah, yes.” She dropped her arm from shielding her eyes and made a move to grab her suitcase from the belt.

“Here, let me.”

And before she even took a step forward, he had already leaned over to grab her bag and set it down next to her. It looked effortless when she knew well that the bag couldn’t have been too light. At another time, she definitely would have teased him without a second thought, but today, she only smiled and nodded her thanks. This was apparently really unlike her by Hank’s standards.

“Are you really not feeling well?”

“No, no, just a headache from a bad sleep.”

“You sure?” He stepped closer and pressed his hand against her forehead. He felt for her body temperature while she felt the callous on his hand and how big it was compared to her forehead. It was warm and gentle against her skin. “You don’t have a fever.”

“Oh God, Hank.” She couldn’t help but chuckle, turning her head lightly to dislodge his hand. “I think I’d know if I was having a fever.”

“That’s better.” He pulled his duffle bag over his shoulders and grabbed the handle of his suitcase in one hand with the other dragging Christina’s bag along. “Come on; let’s head for the bus before you faint on us here.”

She was just tempted to tell him that there would be no fainting!

Yeah, the lack of sleep was one thing, even her steps felt hazy. Somewhere during that short trip, she caught Ron’s eyes. He looked like he wasn’t meant to have been caught starring and wanted to pull his gaze away, but on second thought, he lifted an inquisitive eyebrow. Yeah, the lack of sleep showed.

But he was the other problem.

After what happened that other night, they’ve not had time to speak to one another. There was nothing else to follow up either, not a “sorry” or a confirmation of anything further. It had left her frustrated and wondering whether he was just too drunk to remember anything. However, when he started dodging her gaze, she just knew that he remembered.

Then he’s just a coward.

She ignored his look and turned her head back to locating where the bus was, Hank was already putting their bags into the stomach of the bus. From plane stomach to bus stomach, she could only hope her bag of make-up inside wasn’t all destroyed.

On the bus, she took the first available seat with not much real preference. She was glad that Hank was sitting with some of the other players, seemingly still continuing their poker game from before. Sheesh. Slowly the administrative staff members filed onto the bus, she lifted her gaze up to watch. Ron had paused near her seat and looked down at her. She thought he was going to at least say something, but no. No. He just turned and slid into the seat in front of her.

Oh for fuck’s sake…

She huffed and closed her eyes. Fine. Whatever.

For the rest of that day, it was easy to avoid one another. Yet she knew –and he knew- that every turn and corner, there would be those missed glances. The game was a tight one but when the team dropped by a goal, it was about the process and not the product. Although no one would deny that it would have been great if they had won that game. When everyone was freshened up once again, the question of going out was raised.

Like always.

Tonight, the difference was for Hank to suggest that she stay in and get some rest. It was almost funny and definitely cute to see his worried face, especially when he’s always been so cheeky with her. However, she didn’t disagree with the idea. She didn’t go not because of the reasons he thought of for himself, but instead, she had wanted to settle her thoughts as well. If the other party wasn’t interested, then Christina could take the night and just completely forget that anything’s happened.

She let down her hair from the clip that she had on all day and shook her hair loose. Ah, it was much better this way. Grabbing her room key, she stepped down to the small bar on the ground floor of the hotel. It was mostly empty with the bartender wiping what seemed like a collection of glasses as she sat down on a bar stool.

“Whiskey. Thanks.”

She didn’t notice that not too far away, the team was just getting around to heading out for dinner as well. Ron had spent the entire day –and almost the entire week- trying to figure out where he stood. He didn’t want to appear too distracted, especially when he remembered how she had not looked so optimal this morning. He had thought about approaching her, but didn’t know what stopped him.

It wasn’t fear. He wasn’t scared, it was more like –and definitely- uncertainty.

He had stepped out of line that night and although the words exchanged were indicative of future meetings, he wasn’t quite sure if he meant them or if she meant them. They were both intoxicated that night and he couldn’t help but wonder if it was anyone else with her, would she have acted the same way.

The group was still having a mild argument about where to eat and Ron’s patience was thinning by the second. One quick glance around and he paused momentarily when he thought he saw her familiar back view at the bar. It was likely; he had experienced first hand how she had no problems with alcohol. However, if that was the case, and with her appearance today, he wasn’t quite sure whether she should be drinking at all.

“You know what.” His lips moved before his brain could fully approve of the situation. “On second thought, I think I’m just going to stay in tonight. I’m feeling more tired than I thought.”

“What’s wrong, Ron? Old age getting to you?”

Oh you have no idea how much that just might apply for now. Be it his indecisiveness or actually feeling his age. Either way, the group finally left the revolving door and he turned to look back at his object of attention. He considered his options for a moment, and then he caved. Sighing heavily, he told himself that this probably wasn’t going to be the smartest idea, he approached her.

“Hey.”

Her hand paused midway to her lips and she glanced over to see him take the seat next to her. She appraised his presence for a few seconds before nodding her head and went ahead with that drink. “Hey.”

“How long have you been here?”

“Not too long.”

He looked at her and waved away the bartender when he approached to take his order. He felt that one of them should remain alcohol free tonight.

“You didn’t look too well today, is everything alright?”

“It’s fine, I just didn’t get enough sleep.” And apparently, it really shows!

“Look, it’s probably none of my business,” then don’t say it Christina wanted to interrupt him “but I don’t think you should be down here drinking anymore.”

“Mmm.” It was an irresponsible answer and she knew it. Perhaps she was angrier than she thought. Maybe it had been a blow to her self-esteem; she didn’t know which was which. However, she did know that she was being childish.

Ron gazed at her silently, waited for her to finish her drink and reached over finally to push the glass far away from her. His fingers grasped her fingers; he was fascinated to find the difference between their hands. He was a tall man and years of hockey had conditioned his body a certain way. He was used to dealing with men his size walking around in his life. Women as well. His first wife was a model, his wife now also a model, both of whom could stand their own ground beside him. Yet Christina was not a part of his constant. Her fingers were slender, they looked dainty. Her wrist was thin and he remembered how small she felt next to him.

“Come on, you should get back to your room.” He tugged on her hand while already rising to his feet.

Christina didn’t want to budge, even when his fingers had closed around her hand.

“Come on, be a good girl, I’ll walk you back to your room.” He insisted and she finally caved.

With a sigh, she rose from her seat and obeyed his words. Ron let go of her hand and placed it on her back instead, guiding her away from the bar.

The elevator ride up was silent, Christina starred at her own reflection. She wondered if it showed anything different, if she looked any different. When the elevator came to a stop, the chime reminded both of them of their destination. He held the door open for her, and she stepped out after a second of consideration. The hallway was empty; most people should be in bed or out for dinner. To their left, the rooms were occupied by the players. To the right, the rooms were occupied by staff members. Christina didn’t have to share a room with anyone since there weren’t many female staff members around. Ron didn’t need to share a room just because he was the CEO.

At her door, she slid her card key in and watched the light flash green and she twisted the door handle to shove it open.

“Have a good night.”

She paused at the door way and without warning she turned to face him, eyes starring at him without retreat. “Coward.” She saw his eyes flash, his lips moved as if he was about to say something, but nothing came out. Christina knew that she was pressing buttons; she knew that she would burn herself. However, the matches have already been lit and casted, is it really her fault alone in this?

“We shouldn’t be doing this.”

“Should?” She shook her head at that slowly. “I shouldn’t have invited you home. You shouldn’t have come home with me. We shouldn’t have spent that night in my apartment. We shouldn’t have gone out drinking. We shouldn’t have kissed.” They shouldn’t have met. “You tell me, what’s should or shouldn’t?”

Again, he said nothing. And she didn’t press him either. At her door, they stood silently, facing each other. Maybe she had been done thinking, but it appeared that he was having his internal debate at this moment. Maybe something changed in him, she would not know. Taking a step forward, she kept her gaze on him, watched him, made sure that he wasn’t about to turn around and leave. Then slowly, her hand lifted and a couple of fingers hooked through the loop of his tie, tugged at it. When it was loose enough to be pulled away, his hand shot out and grabbed hers, stopped hers, held hers in place.

She looked at him for a moment before dropping her hand and stepped back into the room to close the door. Half an inch and it met his bent arm, keeping it from clicking shut. From that little peek of a gap, they looked at each other. Seconds felt like an eternity and finally, her hand gave away and he pushed the door open.

Christina had anticipated and prepared herself for this, the heat between both of them was ready to consume her alive. He took that extra second to shut the door behind them before turning his lips to hers, this time, she could barely taste the alcohol that she’s had. His large hands traveled from her shoulders down to her chest, her stomach, her waist, her hips, every inch of her across a couple layers of clothes before grabbing hold of her ass and lifted her up. Instinctually, her legs wrapped around his waist, holding on, clinging on, unwilling to let go and risk breaking this connection.

They did not bother with the light; it was not needed when they could feel with their bodies alone. He took steps forwards, backwards, to the side until he found the mirror of the closet to push her up against, freeing up his hands. Their fingers tore at each other’s clothes. The tie that was loosened already was thrown to the floor. Her shirt was pushed up and over her head, roughly casted aside along with her glasses. It didn’t matter; they were so close that she could see every inch of him even without her glasses.

Forehead against forehead, their lips caught in one kiss and another and another and another……

Only to be torn away so he could follow the line of her throat, past the collarbone that he could not help but leave a small bite upon. The straps of her bra were pulled down, just enough to expose her already swollen tips, arching into his mouth wantonly, willingly, without a second of hesitance. His teeth found her nipple to nip; earning a sharp gasp from her. Her hands gripped his hair, threaded through the brown strands. Christina –as uncomfortable as this was- undulated her hips against the hard of the mirror behind her and the body in front of her, grinding against where she could feel his need as well. Both of them groaned at the contact, eager for more.

His hands fumbled with her pants while her hands had unbuckled his belt and reached down to run her fingers over his hardened manhood. Her pants were too tight to waste time in pulling it all the way off; his own impatience blinded his usual considerate self. Tonight, he had thrown away all reason and thought. His fingers pushed her underwear aside to expose swollen lips for them to run over, he enjoyed the noises of pleasure that she was making because of him.

“Fuck, Ron, come on.”

“Wait,” it pained him tremendously to stop even for a second, “do you have…” Unfinished question died in her mouth when she pressed her lips against his; somehow she had already known what he was going to ask.

“Don’t worry, it’s fine.”

That was all the reassurance he needed before thrusting deep into her. Her heat enveloped him and her head hit the mirror behind her in that moment, the grip she had on his hair was almost unbearable, but the pain was insignificant to the pleasure. “You’re so fucking tight.” He murmured against her breasts, grunting with each initial thrust back inside. So tight that he almost wondered if this was her first time.

Almost.

Until she bucked against him, drew him closer and met him thrust for thrust, her back slid against the polished mirror behind her. Inches away from where she had called him coward moments ago, she now moaned out his name with every slap of skin. He lifted his head from her chest to watch her face mixed with pleasure, and in the mirror, he caught sight of himself. It was almost a shock at first, to see himself drown in such pleasure and lust, but his body did not lie and he knew he wanted this woman as early as that first introduction. And that want was reaffirmed again and again with each following meeting.

They shouldn’t have met.

If anything does happen in the future, that would be one phrase she will keep to. But she could not deny how her very core screamed in pleasure as he filled her, again and again, she didn’t even care if the mirror would collapse with such force. She enjoyed it, she welcomed it, she beckoned for more each time he would pull away only to slam back in. Her cries of ecstasy grew in volume, her body no longer was hers; it was a machine of its own, moving to reach for maximum pleasure, for that blinding moment of release.

And when it did come, her body shuddered of its own volition, clamping down on him even as he continued his own pace. He felt the pull and the grip; he wanted it to last as long as was possible. Even when he came, she did not flinch away. It’s been a long time since he was last able to release himself so completely and deep within someone. His wife and he were at a place where children were definitely out of the question and his wife had mentioned that she may just be going through menopause.

Those thoughts circulated his brain in the after seconds of that physical work out, and he was reminded that this was not his wife he held in his arms. Ron wasn’t a conservative man, but he’s always been faithful to his relationships. His first marriage had been almost on a whim, he was young and she was young, they were in love and they thought they’d last. His current wife was the product of many years of communication before the commitment was made.

And Christina? He didn’t quite know.

There was guilt. Guilt for having betrayed his family, and guilt for having done this so rashly. And yet, as he looked deeper, there was no guilt for having done this. There was no guilt for having been this attracted and having committed such a sinful pleasure.

He lifted his head from her shoulder to look at her; he could feel the slumping of her weight against him as she tried to keep herself upright. In whatever amount of moonlight that was able to peek through the blinds, she looked so young and yet was in such a wanton state. Her hair was a mess, her lips swollen; her bra was shoved down ‘till it was almost at her waist; her pants were barely off because he couldn’t wait any longer; in the end, he had just entered her with that flimsy layer of underwear pushed aside.

It was like he was eighteen again and the raging hormones could not be controlled.

Moving backwards he supported her weight and stepped out of his own bindings. The pants and boxers that were pooled around his ankles were discarded, his socked feet met carpet floor and he carried her to the bed.

There was no word muttered between them, yet she didn’t feel uncomfortable. Her back touched the bed and she moaned at the comfort of soft sheets as opposed to the hard surface of the mirror. Sprawled on the bed, she looked up at him. Ron was different. When he had fucked her against the mirror, her mind was overruled with pleasure that sparked every single neuron in her brain. And now, as he carefully pushed her hair away and kissed her cheek, it was as if a different person lived in that body.

His hands found the clasp of her bra and took that damned thing off of her, and suddenly she found that she could breathe again. He lifted her legs and finally pulled the pants off; she glanced at how it was tossed onto a chair and made a mental note to perhaps wear skirts and dresses from here on. In any other situation, she would have found this perhaps a bit embarrassing, especially when he removed her panty, socks, and shoes as well. She didn’t move a muscle, she didn’t want to move a muscle, she only wanted to lie there and watch him. She thought he would leave after he’s tucked her in, but when he slid into bed next to her, it was a pleasant surprise.

“You okay?”

“What do you think?”

He looked at he but didn’t say anything, she saw the deepest shade of blue reflecting from his eyes.

“I thought you were mad.”

“I was.” But that was said with a small smile.

“Well, aren’t I glad it’s in the past tense?” Christina only rolled her eyes but didn’t say anything. What else was there that needed to be said? He moved and drew her close to him with a drag of his arm, her long hair tickled his cheeks but he liked the texture. It was a natural dark brown that almost looked black in certain lightings. She felt his hand sliding against her back, thumbing whatever expanse of skin that he could possibly find. It was a long moment before he spoke again; Christina was already dozing off.

“I’m sorry. The wall” well, more like mirror “was an inappropriate place for a first. Next time, it will be better.”

Again, she just couldn’t help it. Immediately, she lifted her head and gave him her best face of pure curiosity and surprise. “Next time? There’s a next time?”

She felt his being pause all too literally, the hand on her back had stopped also. His eyes searched her face intently; she knew he was trying to find the words to cover up this situation. Having bought her act completely.

“Yes, well, no, what I meant was…”

And Christina couldn’t keep that face any longer; she dissolved into laughter and buried her face back down against the pillow and his neck. Her entire body shook from the force of her amusement, and next to her she could feel that Ron had relaxed once again. “Oh go to sleep already.” He hit her ass lightly, though his tone was covered with amused exasperation.

And it would be much needed sleep as well, Christina agreed silently. She had originally thought about going to bed much earlier than this, but it just goes to show you how unpredictable life was. This morning, she had been prepared to ignore him for the rest of her life and now… well, now that certainly wasn’t going to work.

She fell asleep in his arms.

There was no trace of disturbance until he moved. She felt it, intrinsically. She groaned and tried to protest but only felt the empty bed. Christina forced her eyes open and saw a blurry image of him dressing. God, it was still dark outside, it couldn’t be morning. Eventually, he noticed her stare.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“It’s okay.” Not really.

“It’s a little past four in the morning; I have to go back to my room.” He explained while he draped his suit jacket over his forearm by her bedside. Christina could only nod in agreement. It would not do for the team to see him leave her room later on and besides, he probably needed a change of clothes either way. “Go back to sleep.” And he leaned down to press a kiss against her hair before leaving.

Sleep didn’t wait any longer, she rolled over and it was back to la-la land once again.

Ron was just glad that he managed to wake up before it was too late. When he was back in his own room, everything looked a little more under control, there was order, but there was also emptiness and a surge of cold air. He could only get a few more hours in before having to climb back up again. Then, it was routine. By the time that everyone was filing downstairs towards the bus, he was as refreshed as ever.

No one could tell the difference.

Outside the hotel, there was a row of fans lined up for the team’s autographs, which inevitably meant that he had to sign a few as well. He kept an eye on the players entering the bus, partly to make sure that no one was still sleeping and partly because of personal reasons. It was almost at the end of the line when Christina strolled out of the hotel lobby. No longer did she look as pissed as she did yesterday, instead, he must admit, she probably got a better night’s sleep than him.

Their gaze caught for a brief second before she walked away with half a smile on her lips.

Surely, the smile on his face was bigger. It was a comfortable day of early December; many players even just had a T-shirt and a jacket over it. This morning, Christina unceremoniously chose to wear a turtle neck sweater that covered her from chin to waist.

At least he didn’t have to worry about that problem.

To be continued...

Author's Notes: Ah, that hellish week is finally over, but the horizon is not entirely clear. I must admit, I am not fluent when it comes to writing sex. Be it hetero-sex or homosexual sex. And yet, I foresee more in the future. That certainly goes against the theory of self benefit.