Page 81 of Without Bound
“That’s better. Now, make it up to me for being a first class jerk. I’ll take my apology in the form of orgasms.” I dig my fingers into her side and she laughs.
“Anything for you, my little butterfly.”
This is it. No more bullshit. Anais is mine, and I’m hers.
Without any bounds.
27
Anais
Confetti swirls in the air and for the second time we’re all down on the field, celebrating the Wranglers World Series win. Everyone is hugging and kissing one another, and exuberant smiles are passed from one person to the other.
Bishop hugged me as much as he could without drawing attention when the ninth inning ended and the Wranglers were victorious. And while I’m happy, I can’t get this afternoon’s events off of my mind or the weight of what could come of it off my chest.
After Bishop made us breakfast, I went back to my dorm to change and grab an extra set of clothes for tonight’s game. Keyara was already gone, making me feel guilty once again, but after what happened in the restaurant yesterday and seeing the look on Bishop’s face when he saw Blake with me, she understood my need to make sure things were okay with us.
When I was done, he was waiting for me in the parking lot, his bike revving and my helmet in his hands. I looked around the lot, but it was late Sunday morning and there weren’t many students around. I climbed on, buckled my helmet into place, and we sped off towards the record store.
We probably spent two hours there, searching through stacks of albums, listening to songs in one of the music listening rooms, and picking out albums for one another. Some were spot on in music tastes, but others were funny and had us laughing out loud.
Bishop ended up buying me several albums to start my collection –RAYE, Miley Cyrus, Dua Lipa and Bebe Rhexa as my choices, and Lenny Kravitz, Michael Jackson, Otis Redding and Dr. Dre as his picks. It was a pretty eclectic mix, but it was us to a T. Some of these albums contained the songs we’ve sent to one another as there are many. But the one that got me the most was when he playedButterflyby Lenny Kravitz in the booth. He remembered it as the song we danced to at Cami and Vaughan’s wedding and said it’s the song he hears playing in his head every time he sees me.
Talk about a swoon moment. It gets better. He said the lavender dress I wore struck him so strongly that he went out and bought a lavender dress shirt the next weekend. He said he wasn’t sure if he’d ever wear “the darn thing,” but he sees it when he walks into his closet each morning and it makes him smile to start off the day thinking of me.
I swear I melted right then and there in the store. Pieces of me are still lying amongst the stacks of albums where he admitted all of this.
It was a great morning. I had the promise and love of Bishop, and mind blowing morning sex which is always the best way to start the day. We had worry-free time together outside of his house where we could be us and share moments that meant something. It all lasted until we walked out through the doors of the store.
Our purchases were in a bag that Bishop held in one hand, while his other arm was wrapped around my neck as he pulled me in for a kiss. When we parted, shock and dread filled my belly.
“Coach?”We heard and spun around to see Blake and a few other guys from the team, watching us with dropped jaws.
“Hey. Uh, what’re you guys doing down here?”he asked them. But the real question was, what were we doing together.
“Lunch,”one of them said, holding up a paper cup.
“Is this why you weren’t interested in a date, Anais?”Blake asked me.
My stomach felt sour and my eyes fell to the floor with guilt. The day prior Blake had asked for my number and wanted to know if I’d go out with him sometime. I was still reeling from seeing Bishop that I told him I’d love to be friends, but I really wasn’t looking for anything other than that with anyone. I explained that I just wanted to focus on my studies before I thought about adding a relationship to the mix. He said he understood, but I saw a little bit of pain in his eyes.
Bishop immediately tried to defuse the tense situation by explaining the administration was aware of our relationship, but we preferred to keep it quiet so as not to affect my standing with any of my professors. He didn’t want them to be swayed in any way. He asked that the boys keep it just between us and while they agreed, I got the feeling it was all lip service. My gut told me that by the end of the week, the entire baseball team would know about us along with a few other departments.
Bishop took my hand in his and pulled me away, leaving the guys standing in shock on the sidewalk. I looked over my shoulder at them and saw Blake staring at us with a mixture of hurt and resentment on his face.
A loud horn blares and I’m brought back to the celebration. Dagen has bounced between everyone and now she comes barreling towards me.
“Ana!” She shouts. “Isn’t this amazing?”
I open my arms and pull her into a tight hug. “It is! But were you really worried that Uncle Nix couldn’t pull it off?”
“Nah,” her face scrunches and she shakes her head. “Besides Uncle Bishop, Uncle Phoenix is the best baseball player in the history of the world.”
We laugh and hear Vivian’s voice fill the stadium.
“Get over here Phoenix,” she says, waving him over to where she stands with the microphone. “Another year, another championship. How does it feel to be atwo-time World Series champion and league MVP?”
“It feels amazing. The only thing that could make this moment better is if youfinallyagree to a set wedding date.” Uncle Nix smiles the biggest smile ever, knowing Vivian hates when he puts her on the spot.
