Page 56 of Out Of Time

“You watched?” he asked.

“Of course.”

“It was the longest game of my life,” he admitted, guilt teasing the depths of his stomach.

“I imagine they all might feel like that from here on out,” she said, her hands soothingly rubbing his lower back.

“I’m struggling with the guilt of it. Of taking the start knowing I don’t have the team's best interest at heart.”

“Sometimes you have to be selfish, Max. Just for a little bit. Just before it becomes your entire identity.”

“And then what?”

“And then you let it go until you have another valid reason to be selfish again.”

Max ran a gentle thumb across Remi’s jaw, causing her to close her eyes at the simple touch, her smile fading into something heady.

“I want to be selfish with you tonight,” he said quietly.

“You don’t have to be selfish with me, I’ll freely give you anything you want, Max Miller.”

“I want to make you feel good,” he said, bringing his lips down to meet the delicate skin of her neck, his soft facial hair causing her to giggle as it traced below her jaw.

“I want to makeyoufeel good. You deserve the celebration. You played a hard game tonight.”

He brought her mouth to his, kissing her for the first time this evening, the taste of her lips sweet and minty against his. Pressing up on tiptoe she deepened the kiss; the friction between them made every part of his body come alive.

Pulling her down to the blanket she had on the sand, he brought her to sit between his legs, both of them facing the ocean. Max was grateful he was still able to make out the white crash of the waves. He never wanted to forget how the moon illuminated the ocean at night, making it seem as if it were glowing in the dark.

Remi settled herself against him, and the heat of her body pressed against his groin made him harden with need for her. He ran a heavy hand over her breasts and then lowered it firmly down her stomach until he was gripping her sex. Remi instinctually let her legs fall apart, making room for him there.

“Is this okay?” he nearly growled into her ear.

“Yes,” she hummed.

He firmly pressed his fingers against the cotton fabric of her shorts, grateful she had chosen to wear something simple that allowed him such easy access to her tender parts. Remi allowed her head to fall back against his chest, her eyes closed, and her breaths growing rapidly.

He looked down at her body, loving the advantage he had being so big in comparison to her. He loved his ability to have her in his arms this way, to watch as she bit down on her bottom lip while he slowly brought his hand to the elastic band of her shorts. Her hands gripped his thighs as he pushed below the thin fabric. Looking up, she gave him a smirk when he realized she had no panties on.

“Fuck, Remi, you’re so soft. So smooth,” he whispered as his fingers grazed her most intimate parts. Teasing her as he trailed a finger along her entrance, he pressed in just enough to feel how wet she was for him, but not giving her what she wanted—not yet, not while he was enjoying watching her come apart in his arms.

“Max,” she hummed, and it wasn't a question or a statement. It was just his name on her lips, a whimper,aplea.

“You’re so beautiful like this,” he said, pushing his finger between her soft lips just enough to stroke her clit. Her ass rolled against his erection, making him suck in a deep breath. The ocean was loud in the distance, and he wondered if it would be loud enough to mask the sounds she would make when he made her come.

He ran his hand down her slit again, this time stopping to press a finger deep inside her. The warmth of her made his dick weep to be free, engulfed by the walls of her sex. When she pressed her body up against his hand, he curled his finger firmly inside her, his palm heavy on her clit, creating friction against her most sensitive parts with the strong palm of his hand.

His grip on her was rough and controlled, and he used that strength to make her body tremble. Shifting his hand, he brought his thumb up to massage her clit, pressing in deep circles. The walls of her sex started to grip around his finger, the pulse of her heart seemingly pounding against his palm. She began to cry out in little hums and moans. Her voice was deeper than normal, and her body pressed against his chest as he kept his rhythm, never missing a beat, never switching it up once he found the spot, the pace, and the pressure that made her come undone.

Without warning her knees clasped together tightly, trapping his hand between her legs as she came. Her toes dug into the sand; orgasm footprints would mark this place when they pulled the blanket up to go home.

Max smiled out at the ocean.

Tonight was a good night.

He couldn’t understand how he had just found out he was going blind and that his career as a professional athlete was essentially over, and yet somehow, he was managing to feel the most alive and complete he had ever felt in his lifetime.

Sometimes, he thought,it took losing something to see what you had right in front of you the whole time.

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