A/N: Smut WARNING for this chapter.

Chapter 6

By the time Tami and Eric got to the motel, they were hungry for each other. While he fumbled to get the key in the lock, she leaned with her back against the door and assaulted his ears and neck with nips and kisses and sensual suckles. Tami had his belt unbuckled and his jeans unbuttoned before they were even inside the room.

He kicked the door shut behind himself as she jerked his zipper down with a loud rasp. As she slid her hand into his pants, he moaned and yanked the top button of her slacks loose. Eric tugged at Tami's zipper as he backed her toward the desk. While he thrust the chair away from the desk and swept the motel pad and pen off its surface, she shimmied out of her slacks and panties. He lifted her onto the desk, where her bare bottom felt cool against the slick, wooden surface...

[*]

"Damn I missed you," Eric breathed as he stood panting against her neck afterwards, his hands palm down on the desk on either side of her, as if his knees were too weak to support him now.

"I can tell." She giggled. "Can we at least take off our socks now?"

He laughed and stepped out of his pants and boxers, which were pooled around his feet. He peeled off his socks and then his T-shirt, and climbed naked under the sheets, where he sat and watched her pull her bra expertly out from the arms of her still-buttoned blouse. Her shirt tail fell to mid-thigh as she climbed in bed beside him.

"That shirt's got to come off too, you know," he said.

"I know. But I also know how much you like undoing buttons."

He smiled and slid down on his back, his head against the pillow and a wide grin on his face. She cuddled up, her head on his chest.

"I need some recovery time first," he said. "But then I'll get to them. One by one by one."

She kissed his bare chest and glanced at the clock, which read 8:32 PM. "We need to order a pizza. I'm starving. Did you eat?"

"Peanuts. At the bar." He reached over to the nightstand and handed her the receiver to the phone.

[*]

They sat cross-legged in bed with the open box of pizza between them. Tami just had the shirt on still, but Eric had pulled on his jeans to answer the door and pay for the pizza.

"Don't let that cheese slide off and burn any naughty bits," Eric told her. "I've got a use for those later."

"Yeah?" she asked with a smile. "Good, because I want the kisses."

"The kisses, huh?" he asked.

"The kisses," she agreed. "I'm glad you do that. Mo never wanted to."

"Let's not talk about your ex-sex-life with Mo, please."

"Sorry. Did you do it a lot for Sandy?"

"Let's not talk about my ex-sex life with Sandy either. But no. She didn't like it."

"What? What the hell is wrong with her? That's your best talent!"

"I'm glad you think so, but I mean she didn't even want to try it."

"Why?" Tami asked, completely befuddled.

"Don't know. Didn't ask. I offered, she said she didn't want to do that, and so...that was it."

"Weirdo," Tami said, and took a huge bite of pizza. After she'd swallowed, she asked, "Then how did you get so good at it?"

She knew Sandy was his first serious girlfriend. He'd dated her his entire sophomore year, when he lived in Euless. He'd never done more than kiss a girl before Sandy, and he'd lost his virginity to her. They broke up when he moved to North Dillon, both agreeing they should see other people rather than try to maintain a long distance relationship as mere juniors. At least, Eric had said it was mutual, but Tami suspected he might have broken Sandy's heart. It would have broken her heart, after all.

He shrugged. "Natural born talent, I guess." He licked the sauce off one of his fingers. "But like any inborn talent – say, football – you've got to practice to perfect it. Preferably daily."

She laughed. "I could get behind that work-out plan." At least, she imagined she could, but that was easy to do when she was barely 19 and only got to see her boyfriend once every several weeks. Eric would remind her of this conversation several times throughout their long marriage.

They polished off the entire pizza between themselves, drank some water, and then Eric undid each of those buttons before they took a playful shower together. Later, he lay her naked across the bed and worked his way slowly down until he was between her legs...

"You liked that, didn't you?" he asked when he'd pulled himself back up and his lips were level with her ear.

"Yesss," she whimpered.

"I like doing that to you. It turns me on. See." He took her hand and placed it on his erection. "Did I make you feel good?"

"Uh-huh," she managed.

"Good. My turn." He did a sort of push up and then drew himself into a standing position before the bed. Still breathing hard, she sat up and slid forward. She began by kissing the taut muscles of his abdomen, with tantalizing nips and licks, but he gripped her long hair and tugged gently until she was looking up at him. His eyes were a little glazed. "No more teasing," he told her.

She smiled and began to give him what he wanted. "Good girl," he told her, and his breathing grew uneven. "Oh God, Tami, yes, you're a good, good, goood...oh...babe...that's so..." If she didn't know better, she'd have thought she was killing him based on the sounds that came out of him next.

[*]

"What time is it?" Tami asked. They were spooned naked together in bed now, but he was facing the clock.

"12:45," he said sleepily. They'd been talking for awhile now. It was a novelty, being able to talk in person, for free. And it felt right to be in Eric's arms, like she belonged there. Tami's sense of security had sometimes faltered these past few weeks, but she couldn't feel anything but certain here, in this bed, her back pressed against his chest, his flesh still warm and slick from their final round of lovemaking. She didn't want the time to escape from her. She didn't want to stop talking to him, but, soon enough, she fell asleep in mid word.

[*]

They went out for breakfast in the morning at the Waffle House next door to the motel, but she insisted on paying. "You got the motel and drove all the way down here. This is the least I can do. I didn't even give you your present. I was supposed to give you phone sex."

He looked around, leaned over the table confidentially, and whispered, "Not sure if you know this, but in person sex is better." She giggled and he leaned back against the booth. "But I fully expect phone sex next weekend. You promised I'd get it. And I'm holding you to that promise."

"Okay," Tami agreed, though the truth was she didn't really like to talk dirty on the phone. She always felt a little weird doing it, but she was willing to do it for Eric. It couldn't be easy for him, barely eighteen, horny, and surrounded by cheerleaders, a third of whom would probably be willing to go down on him under the bleachers if he would just ask. So every now and then, when she was sure Jenny wouldn't be walking in their room, she'd play the sultry girl on the other end of the line. Eric was lucky his parents let him have a phone in his bedroom. In the Hayes household, there had only been the one - in the kitchen.

Part of what made it awkward, maybe, was that Eric didn't say much when they had phone sex. He wanted her to do most of the talking. He'd prompt her by asking things like - "What are you wearing?", "What are you doing to yourself now?", and "What do you want me to do to you?" She had to fill in the narrative between the questions. He just listened and…whatever else he was doing while he was listening. He didn't tell her that. But she heard his breathing growing heavier and the "Ohhhh God" that came at the end of it all.

They went back to the motel after breakfast, because they had the room until noon check-out. They fooled around again and cuddled and talked afterward.

"My dad's pissed I didn't sign up for math this semester."

"Why?" Tami draped a leg over his hip. "You don't need it to graduate." She'd only taken through Algebra II in high school herself. "You didn't even need Trigonometry."

"I know." He let his hand slide down to the small of her back. "And I'm not going to use it when I double major in P.E. and history."

"Why does he care so much?"

"He still thinks I'm going to major in business when I go to college. He thinks I should manage a professional football team when I retire from the NFL. He doesn't get why I'm interested in history. It's just a bunch of dead people to him. But I don't want to be a manager. When I retire from the NFL, I'll just teach history or P.E. or something."

When he retired from the NFL. Eric was playing well this season, and he had a college scholarship, but not very many guys got drafted to the NFL. She thought he was aiming a little high and setting himself up for almost certain disappointment, but she wasn't going to burst the bubble of his dream. "You'd make a great teacher," she said. "Or a coach. You should think about coaching when you retire from the NFL. You love to draw all those play diagrams."

He shrugged. "I don't know. Coaches have to yell a lot. I'm not a yeller." It was true she hadn't heard him yell often, but he had a commanding voice, and she was pretty sure that coach-hollering would become natural for him in time. "And they have to deal with dickish kids." He said it like he was already an adult and not a high school senior.

"So do teachers."

"Yeah, but only for fifty minutes at a time. Not for an entire football camp."

He rolled her over onto her back, smiled, and began assaulting her neck with agonizing kisses.

[*]

After a cheap lunch at Whattaburger, Tami took him to see her dorm room. When she opened the door and walked in, Jenny, who had been lying in bed and reading a Vogue magazine, sat up. "Hello," she said, and looked Eric over with a smile.

"Jenny, this is Eric," Tami told her. "My boyfriend."

Jenny stood and walked over and extended him her hand. "Okay, I get it now," she told Tami as Eric shook it. "I guess I'll skeedadle and give you guys the room." She winked at Eric, grabbed her purse, and left.

"She seems nice," Eric said, and then threw herself back down on Tami's bed. It creaked.

"She's okay," Tami said. "Mainly because she's not around much."

"Those are the best roommates."

"Like you'd know."

Eric made the bed squeak, wiggled his eyebrows, and patted the mattress.

"We did it like three times last night and twice this morning," Tami said.

"So? We aren't going to see each other again for four weeks. Besides, I think your roommate expects it. We shouldn't disappoint her."

"I'll be sore."

"Then you can just go down on me."

Tami sat down in her desk chair. "Romantic."

"Fine. What do you want to do? I don't have to leave until 8. Want me to take you to the movies or somehting?"

"You'd get home at three in the morning! Isn't mass at 8?"

"I can handle mass on four and a half hours of sleep."

She smiled. "I'll give you a tour of the campus. But first," she motioned him with one finger. "Come here."

He looked puzzled, stood, and walked over to where she sat. She began to unbuckle his belt.

"I thought you didn't want to."

"I changed my mind. Because you're such a good boy."

He grinned.

[*]

Tami went home to North Dillon for Spring Break, and Eric drove up from Odessa to spend it with her. Tami's mother, to her surprise, let him stay at their house. Tami slept in Shelley's room, and Eric took Tami's bed. Ms. Hayes did give him a not-so-subtle warning, however, that he was under her roof. Tami snuck back to her own room anyway, but their lovemaking was quiet, Tami biting down on his shoulder, and Eric muffling his groans in the pillow. Shelley gave her a hard time about her midnight runs, but Tami knew her sister would never give her away.

"Any more news about Mom and the mystery man?" Tami asked one night as Shelley settled into bed. Tami was waiting to make sure her mother was asleep to sneak into Eric's bed.

"Yes. He exists. She met him four months ago when he came to inspect the oil rigs in North Dillon. He lives in Dallas."

Tami's eyes widened as she plopped down on Shelley's desk chair. "Are you saying Mom has a boyfriend?"

"Mom says they're just friends. They totally aren't dating, she claims. He's not interested in her that way, supposedly. But for someone who's not interested in her, he sure does call a lot."

Tami shook her head. "Have you met him?"

"Hell no, Tam. I had to drag it out of her that he even existed. Besides, he only comes to town about once a month."

"I just can't believe it. What's his name?"

"Antonio. He was born in Italy. He's some kind of oil company big shot. Probably makes good money."

"And he likes Mom?" Tami did not think of her mother as a sexual being. Ms. Hayes was always working, studying her Bible, and lecturing them about chastity.

"She's pretty, Tami. And he's ten years older than her."

"Why isn't he married?"

"He's widowed. His wife died three years ago. And that's all the information I got out of Mom."

Tami shook her head again. "And how's your love life?"

"Mark said he'd break up with me if I didn't give him a blow job. So I broke up with him."

"Good for you!"

"Now I'm seeing a guy on the baseball team. Well...two of them, kind of."

"Oh, Good Lord."

[*]

Eric went to church with Tami for Easter. She leaned over and whispered to him, as communion was starting, "You can take it. We have open communion."

He shook his head. It looked weird to him. They were drinking it out of little plastic shot glasses. They weren't even kneeling at an altar to receive it. They were just walking up in a line and standing. The priest-pastor-whatever guy was also holding a loaf of bread instead of putting communion wafers on people's tongues. He was ripping off pieces of the loaf. Eric didn't want to mess it up and do it wrong. "I'll just sit here," he whispered back. He felt like Tami's mother was shooting him suspicious glances as she squeezed by him in the pew.

He had to leave after Easter brunch, to drive back in time for school on Monday. Tami's classes didn't restart until Tuesday. Before he left, they made out against his pick-up in the driveway of the Hayes house. "I'm really going to miss you," she said.

"Me too."

"You be good. I bet all the girls want you now that you're a State Champion."

"They still haven't given us our rings yet. I'll have it for you by summer though. And you be good. I bet all those college guys want you because you're hot as hell."

She smiled and kissed him. "Two months is too long," she complained.

Eric was planning to visit her for the first weekend in summer. She'd be staying with her Mom then. Her scholarship didn't cover housing in the summer, so it made sense to come home. She'd also gotten a temporary receptionist job at the local car dealership, and she should probably be around for Shelley. Mom was working weird hours, and Shelley wasn't going to be getting the best supervision in the summer. Tami's sister did have a cheerleading camp for two weeks, but otherwise she'd be home without much to do but get in trouble.

Eric was going to mow lawns in Odessa and help coach a kids' flag football camp there to save as much money as possible. Then he'd be headed to UH in early August for spring training. Summer was going to be mostly long-distance too.

"I'll try to drive to MWU the last weekend in April," he promised her. "If I can save up for the gas and a motel."

"I'll get the motel," she told him. "I'm making good tips now."

He chuckled. "I bet."

"Yeah, I figured out if I wore a short black skirt instead of the slacks and I unbuttoned my top two buttons, my tips go up."

He frowned.

"I'm kidding," she said. "Part of why I wanted to work there was the uniforms." They were conservative. She still found that didn't stop men from constantly staring and her breasts and butt, though. She hadn't minded that in high school. She'd felt a little flattered, but those were high school guys. These were thirty, forty year old men. It creeped her out a little.

"If one of those customers ever gets fresh with you - "

"- I know. You'll kick his ass." She kissed his nose. "You better go."

He nodded, but he made out with her for another ten minutes before he actually left, with a painful hard-on straining against the zipper of his jeans.