Like we did at our last team dinner with a 'special guest,' we are having dinner first. I've been looking for Mac but she must be taking care of the guest and making sure that everything is ready. The restaurant is a higher end steak house that most of us love to eat at when we're in Toronto. We have to dress up a little more than usual, no jeans tonight, but the food is phenomenal and totally worth it.
We start dinner but still no Mac at the coaches table. Nealer is telling a story about meeting some girl reporter and embellishing, as usual, on her attributes and their night together. We're all too used to his stories to believe him and the guys start ripping him as usual.
What's unusual is, in the middle of a sentence about the girl's, well, attributes, Nealer stops talking for a moment and then says "fuck me."
I look up from my salad and most of the guys are watching the door; rather, they are watching who has walked through the door. Deep in a conversation with Ray, Mac doesn't notice the attention that she's getting. I vaguely hear someone softly whistle under their breath and I think it's Bortz beside me. I've basically stopped being able to focus on anything but Mac.
The first thing I notice is that her hair isn't in its perennial ponytail. Instead it is cascading over her back and shoulders in large, sexy curls. Her makeup is heavier than usual and her eyes are shining as she smiles at Ray with dark, red lips. When my eyes can finally leave her face, they travel down over the glistening skin of her neck and then the swells of her breasts that just peek out of the bodice of her dress. My eyes travel lower where the dress nips in at her waist and gives her hips curves. Then I nearly swallow my tongue at the long, lean legs showing. The dress is modest until you get to the hem. It could be because she`s so tall but the dress shows off a ridiculous amount of leg and my eyes greedily take in every single inch until they reach her heels and then travel back up again.
"Who knew all that was under those warm ups and suits." Duper says.
'I knew' flashes in my mind before I can stop it. It's true, I know what every inch of her body looks like as I look down at her under me, what it feels like as my hands run over her skin and what she tastes like as my lips …
"Sid?"
I look up when I hear my name and see the guys staring at me and smiling. Fuck.
"Yeah" I say. "Who knew?"
That seems to satisfy everyone and they go back to sneaking looks at Mac and talking about her various attributes. Of course I'm doing the same thing; going between focusing on my salad and watching Mac. She's completely unaware of the effect she's having on all of the guys in the room. I know that she doesn't think much of her looks, she's said as much, but she's wrong. All of the attention tonight proves that if nothing else does.
I can't help watching her walk away from the door and to the coaches table now. The dress fabric hugs her ass perfectly and I'm brought back to that moment when I learned how well that ass fits in my hands. She's all supple skin and strong muscle. It still takes me by surprise that our one night together is so indelibly burned into my brain. I know that it was one night and only happened because I needed a friend; more I guess, I needed Mac. It's complicated when your friend is a woman and especially when you have an intense connection like we do.
"Fuck, seriously guys, who knew?" Bortz says again.
Mac has sat with the coaches now and the servers are taking away our salad plates so I lose sight of her. By the time our main course arrives, the conversation at the table has changed to hockey and ripping Bortz about the bruise he got from a fight with Prust last night. I still find my mind wandering to Mac. She's still acting weird sometimes but we've gone back to our joking and fun together. Whatever was wrong, it's mostly gone now and I'm really glad.
After coffee is served, the conversation at the table turns to who our guest is tonight. Guys are really getting into it now and there is even a pool going to guess who it is. It was fifty dollars to buy-in so someone will have a sweet pot. Flower organized it of course. I see Mac stand and leave the room. My eyes greedily watch every movement she makes. It must be the heels that are making her hips sway like that because I would have noticed if she had walked that way before. The miles and miles of leg are distracting me from her hips and I watch every movement until she's left the room.
The lights lower and a video starts on a big screen TV I didn't realize was there. It's a close up on drums being played. The camera is so close that you can't make out who it is playing. There's only the tip of the sticks hitting drums and cymbals. Whoever it is, they're playing like a monster. Guys begin to get excited and there's even cheering. Then we hear the same drums only it's coming from the room. None of us noticed that a drum set and a man has come into the other side of the room. The man is now playing in time with the video. That isn't surprising. What is surprising, stunning even, is that the man doesn't have any arms. He's sitting at the drum set and playing with the sticks in his feet and toes.
We're stunned silent for a few moments and then the cheering begins again only louder and with more enthusiasm. The man smiles at us and continues going faster and faster until he comes to a crescendo. When he finishes, we all cheer and give him a standing ovation. Eventually we all sit and he's standing in front of us.
Over the next hour, Alvin Law talks to us about his journey through life. His mother took a common nausea medication while she was pregnant that they later learned that it causes severe birth defects in the children. What is incredible about Alvin's story is that his parents treated him the same as his siblings. He had the same chores, was expected to achieve the same grades and was never given an inch because of his disability. His story about when he had to cut the grass for the first time had us all laughing. The man even drives. Without hands and arms.
His talk didn't take the route I thought it would. It wasn't about overcoming adversity. He focused on how everyone is special and not because they have special skills or a disability. There is a connection between all people and we need to help each other, sure, but there is pride in accomplishment. This is a departure from the teamwork talk from Phil Jackson. Alvin focuses on letting others experience their struggles to gain the pride of accomplishment. It's not opposite to Jackson's philosophy but a different take on teamwork.
After about thirty minutes, the lights come up and Alvin engages us in a discussion. We talk about the challenges of being a professional athlete in the team game we play. It's interesting to hear what the guys think about the dichotomy between being incredibly lucky to play the game we love and the stress of needing to perform both as individuals and a team. It seems that Mac hit this one out of the park too.
Now that Alvin is done, there are as many guys around him as there was after Jackson spoke.
I manage to find Mac alone.
"What did you think?" she asks me.
"Incredible Mac. You did it again" I tell her.
She's grinning at me and I can tell how happy she is to contribute to the team this way. The smile and happiness in her eyes enhances her beauty right now. I didn't think anything could when she first walked into the room.
"What's up with this?" I ask and indicate her dress.
Did I really just ask that? God, I have no finesse at all.
Mac quirks a brow and says "I don't know what you mean."
Ok, I deserved that.
"I mean, you always look gorgeous but different than usual tonight."
Now she smiles at me again.
"As a Christmas present, my friends took me to the spa so" she fluffs her hair. "Do you like it?"
Is she flirting with me? It feels like she's flirting with me right now.
"You look gorgeous. And the dress" I say and whistle.
For a moment and then a few more moments we simply smile at each other. It's like there are sparks going off between us now. The semi I started when she walked into the room during dinner is threatening to spring up again. What the fuck?
"Hey there, what are you up to tonight beautiful lady?" Nealer says as he slides up next to Mac and puts his arm around her.
Bortz and Duper join us too.
Mac tilts her head at Nealer and says "James, you couldn't handle me." She then kisses him lightly on the lips and sashays, yep that's a sashay, away from us. All four of us watch her walk away.
I look at Duper and he shrugs his shoulder while saying "I'm married, not dead."
We all laugh at him but I know exactly what he means. Mac and I are friends, good friends, but I'm not dead either; the semi I'm still struggling with definitely proves it.
It's early when we all head up to our rooms. Some of the guys are gathering in Flower's room to watch the Boston / New York game. I beg off to call Lizzy before she goes to bed. Once I'm in my room I call home. Lizzy answers herself.
"Daddy!"
"Lizzy!"
"How are you daddy?"
Oh my God. Did my little girl, the one who couldn't even say 'Sidney' ten months ago, just say that? She's growing up way too fast.
"I'm good princess. How was your day?"
"I saw Miss Sally" she replies and then tells me everything that happened during her visit.
I feel guilty that I've never gone with Lizzy to see Miss Sally. Cat's funeral was the last time that I saw Miss Sally. I flew her up to Halifax for the funeral. I continue to pay for her living in the exclusive nursing home. It's what Cat would want for her and she's like another grandmother to Lizzy. I just can't go see her. It's too painful to even think about.
"Daddy?" Lizzy says and I realize that I've missed something.
"Sorry princess, what did you say?"
"Miss Sally is coming for Christmas daddy. Isn't that great?"
Oh my God, how did that happen? I've been avoiding the woman for almost a year and now I'm going to spend Christmas with her. My first Christmas without Cat. I desperately want to make an excuse and tell Lizzy that we can't have Miss Sally for Christmas, but we're staying in Pittsburgh this year, there is no excuse that isn't selfish. The guilt for even wanting to make an excuse weighs on me now.
"That sure is great Lizzy. We'll need to make sure that Santa knows she's going to be at our house so her gifts are dropped off at the right house."
"I'll write a letter to Santa, right now."
She's off the phone and it falls to the floor before I can say anything. My mom picks it up.
"Sorry dear, she's very excited to write the letter."
"Why is Miss Sally coming to Christmas?" comes out of my mouth before my brain can stop it.
"Dear" mom says but not in a gentle way. "We are her family. You may not visit her but we do with Lizzy every week. She is our family and she will spend Christmas with us. I'm sorry if that hurts you but she is coming."
Wow, mom doesn't often speak to me like that and definitely not for a very long time. I feel like I'm twelve years old and she caught me playing ball hockey when I'm supposed to be studying.
"Ok mom. You're right of course."
"Sidney, it will be good for all of us. Really, it will."
I'm not convinced but I say "I'm sure it will mom. Thanks."
We say goodbye and I get changed into warm up gear. Comfortable, I sit on the bed and consider going to Flower's room to watch the game with the guys. I don't know why I pretend to consider it. I know exactly where I'm going.
I grab my key card and head down to Mac's room. It's early so I knock.
I sense that she's looking through the peep hole and then the locks rattle before the door opens. She still has on that hot dress but she has taken off her hose. Her hair is half piled up on her head. She looks even more beautiful.
"Sid?"
I give myself a shake and say "sorry. Hi, can I come in?"
"Sure."
She moves back to let me in and I notice that she has the Boston / New York game on her TV.
"Flower and the guys are watching the same game."
"Don't you usually join them?" she asks.
"Yeah, but I wanted to talk to Lizzy so I went back to my room."
"What happened? What's wrong?" she asks.
It hits me then that I always come to her when something is wrong. It makes sense that I want my friend when something happens but is that the only time I want to talk with her? That doesn't make me a very good friend.
"Nothing happened, nothing is wrong" I lie to her.
Mac's look of surprise tells me that I'm right, I usually come to her when something is wrong, and I really don't want her to think that I'm using her.
"I just thought you might want to watch the game together" I continue.
"Ok, make yourself comfortable. I just opened a bottle of wine, do you want a glass?" she asks.
"Sure" I tell her.
Mac turns to the desk and knocks over one of the glasses. It bounces off of the carpet and she bends to pick it up. That's when it happens. My eyes hone in on her ass and watch as the fabric strains across while she bends to retrieve the glass. Shit. The semi I've been fighting blooms, fully. Fuck.
As Mac stands, she over corrects and topples back against me. I reach to keep her from falling and she ends up flush against me. Fuck.
When she's steady, I don't release her. Instead I turn her around and watch confusion come into her eyes. Still flush against me, I know that she can feel my erection and I get harder as her hands lay against my chest. What am I doing?
I brush a curl away from her cheek and then caress the side of her face. I feel her lean, ever so slightly, into my hand. Keeping my eyes open and on hers, I lean in and take her lips slowly and softly. It's almost a whisper of a kiss. Her eyes darken as I continue to rub my lips over hers and soon feel hers respond. Mac's fingers dig into my chest and I can feel her nails through my shirt. My one hand on her waist pulls her even closer and there is no way to hide how much I want her right now. Is this what happens when you have a woman who is a friend? Does it turn into friends with benefits if you're both unattached?
I pull back just an inch and watch her carefully. She is staring at me, confused, but there is a flush to her cheeks and her eyes are dark with desire. I remember that look. It draws me in like a moth to the flame.
I pull Mac roughly to me and kiss her, hard, and unrelenting. I tilt her head to give me better access to her mouth. My tongue parts her lips and then duels with hers. She's just as engaged as I am in this kiss. Her hands slide up my chest, one grabs onto my shoulder and the other my neck. Her small moans of desire make me harder. My hand at her waist slides lower until I reach the hem of her dress and slide it up. She's only wearing a g-string underneath. That's when any last shred of control I still possess snaps. I have to have her. I pull at her g-string, hard, and it rips off of her. Mac's surprise is smothered by my lips. I don't give her any time to catch up, I can't. I simply need, I don't know what I need except to be buried inside of her, deep and now.
The force of my kiss has Mac taking an unsteady step back and into the desk. I lift her so that she's sitting on the desk with her dress up around her waist and I settle between her wide open legs. My lips never stop their assault on hers. I can't stop and don't want to, maybe ever. My errection strains against my pants and I push against her instinctively. Her instinct is to push back. I never knew dry humping could be so erotic.
Her moans continue and I need to be inside of her. To test her readiness, I back away slightly and slide two fingers inside of her. Her moan is low and long. I feel the vibration of it throughout my body. She's wet but I want her dripping for me. I slide my fingers to her entrance and swirl around. Her hips tilt and push against my hand. It forces my fingers in deeper so I push them in even deeper. I pump her a few times and her finger nails dig into my skin. Now she's getting where I want her. I slide my fingers out and over her clit to play there. The combination of push, swirl and flick has her writhing in my arms. Mac's head falls back, she can't even focus to kiss me now. My hand is soaked. She's dripping for me and I have to work at not simply exploding before I can bury inside of her.
I feel her orgasm begin and I'm stunned that it happened so fast. I know that I've been semi hard all night but I thought she would need more time. I push that thought away to be studied another time and focus on Mac. I push my pants down, kick them away and then position myself between her legs again. This time Mac's eyes are open and on mine. Before I can move again or drive inside of her, Mac brings her hand up to her lips and licks. Her hand is wet now as she slips it between us and circles me. I have to concentrate like I've never done before not to explode like a teenager in her warm, wet hand. She strokes a few times but I really can't take any more. Mac knows that too.
I move her hand and slam inside of her. Both of us moan this time. She's so fucking wet and hot. I try to hold still for a moment but Mac starts to move immediately. Her hips tilt up to pull me in further, deeper. I can't take anymore. I pull out and push back in, hard and rough and Mac moans again. Her fingers dig in deeper. With this encouragement, I set a hard and fast pace for us and only my groans and her cries break through my single minded need to find a release. I can't hold off any more, I try but I can't. Thankfully, while I'm cumming, I feel Mac's orgasm begin and her walls shake around my dick.
I hold Mac close, still inside of her, while her orgasm continues. I've never experienced this single minded, all-consuming need, not even with Cat.
Oh fuck. Cat. What did I just do?