On the rare occasion I have the day off, I normally spend it alone binge watching whatever television show captures my attention. I don't have any friends outside of my teammates, and being around my family can be exhausting. I've always preferred to spend my free time by myself. Today, however, I plan on spending it a very different way.

At my first stop of the day, my phone goes off. I almost roll my eyes when I scroll through the family group chat.

Mom: You're telling me you won't be joining us for Thanksgiving the weekend before??? What changed? You've never missed a holiday with us.

Iz: I can think of a reason why...

Dickhead Ev: Does it start and end with an A by any chance?

Mason: If so, it's about time.

Dad: It's none of our business. If you need to skip out on this year, we'll understand.

Em: Stop hounding him! Whatever reason he has is valid enough.

Dickhead Ev: If you're missing Thanksgiving just to be with her, can you at least make things official and introduce us? PROPERLY this time?

God, I hate Everett.

***

"Connor?" Aria peeks her head through her front door, surprised to see me. "What are you doing here?"

I lean my arm against the door with a cocky grin—one I know she can't refuse. "We both have the day off, right? I thought we could spend it together."

"But we're supposed to be keeping this a secret. We can't go out."

"I didn't say we were." Lifting the bag in my hands, I arch a brow. "Is it alright if I come in?"

Aria tentatively steps away from the door, allowing me inside. She's in leggings and an oversized t-shirt, and her straightened hair is held back by a bandana. Bare-faced with no makeup, she's fucking perfect.

"No more sling?" I ask, pointing to her bare arm.

I glance over my shoulder when she turns the doorknob three times, then checks the deadbolt three more times. "Habit," she says in a rushed voice. "And I got the all clear from my doctor this morning. Anyway, welcome to my home."

"I've been here before," I reply. "Remember? When I helped you move?"

"Right, but I've decorated since then."

Not really. Her townhome is bare, lacking any sense of home. I don't spot a single picture of her family on any of the walls. There's a couch, a television, a dining room table, but it doesn't feel like a home. It just looks like a house that's being staged for sale.

There are a lot of secrets to be learned about Aria's past, so there's probably a reason she doesn't have pictures of her family up. Rather than comment on it, I head into the kitchen and place the bag on top of the island. "We're having a movie day," I announce.

"A movie day," she repeats.

Pulling out all of the goodies in the bag, I lay them out in front of her. Popcorn, candy, chips, I basically grabbed the entire grocery store. I don't know what her favorite food is, so I grabbed everything in sight. If she's reluctant to let me get to know her, I'm going to do whatever possible to make it happen.

"And finally..." I grab the bouquet of flowers, passing them over to her. "These are for you."

Aria's eyes light up at the arrangement. She brushes her fingers over the pink roses, smiling softly. "These are beautiful. You didn't need to get me flowers, Connor."

"It's not a proper date without them. Now come on. We have movies to binge."

***

I've learned more about Aria in the span of three hours than I have the entirety of the two months we've been around each other. Her favorite movies are romcoms, which honestly surprised me given she seems to be fearful of having a happy ending for herself. I sat through Bridesmaids and then forced her to watch my ultimate favorite Step Brothers.

We just finished eating the pizza we ordered when she says, "I'm pretty sure you gave me every salty snack known to mankind, which is a good thing for you because I happen to love them."

My lips twitch, threatening a smile. "Well, I haven't given you every salty snack known to mankind tonight. Not yet, at least."

When she gets the joke, she attempts to kick me in the balls from the opposite side of the couch, which I quickly deflect with my knee. "Have I mentioned that I can't stand you?"

I grab her foot and begin to massage it, loving the way her eyes roll to the back of her head. "It was such a good opportunity. Come on. The joke practically wrote itself."

There's a smile on her face when she tilts her head towards the television, where Waiting to Exhale is playing. Aria wanted to introduce me to some of the most popular Black movies of all time, which I eagerly agreed to. "This was my sister's favorite movie," she whispers.

My heart stills in my chest. I fear if I make any sudden movement she won't continue to open up. Thankfully, she does.

"She wanted her hair to look like Whitney Houston's, but the texture wasn't the same. Her afro wasn't as curly, but she got the inspiration from her. It was still beautiful regardless."

"Have you ever wanted to wear your hair natural?" I ask.

She shakes her head, continuing to stare at the television. "I used to wear my hair natural, but not anymore. It doesn't feel right after she passed."

I shrug. "I never knew your sister, but I'm sure she'd love it if you honored her in that way. If you wanted to, that is."

"It's not honoring her when—" Her voice cuts off before she releases a frustrated sigh. Dammit. So close. "Nevermind. I just wanted to tell you thank you for this today. It's the first time I've watched this movie since she passed, and I'm really happy I'm watching it with you."

"Me too," I reply thickly, swallowing down the building emotion.

Aria sits up and straddles me on the couch, hooking her arms around my neck. My hands find her hips, squeezing gently. "I've been thinking," she admits. "About us."

I don't know how to keep my heart rate under control. "And?"

"And I think I'm willing to... Well, I think I want to give this a shot and see how it goes."

"And by giving it a shot you mean..."

"Dating," she finishes. "We'll still have to keep things a secret, but I had a dinner date with Esme a few nights ago and we basically agreed to step out of our comfort zones, so that's what I'm doing I guess. I...I want to stop denying myself the things that make me happy, and you're one of them."

The smile that falls onto my face makes her giggle. It's the best fucking sound I've ever heard. "Aria Holden has a really good ring to it, don't you think?"

She rolls her eyes. "Leave it to you to take what I said and run with it."

"Is dating not one step closer to marriage?"

"Can you just shut up and kiss me, Connor?"

I'm not going to deny her that request. My lips meet hers with pure need, our tongues colliding almost instantly. Her hands rake down my chest, and my hands run through her hair. The tiny moans that climb up her throat have my heart pounding beneath my t-shirt.

I'm finally able to call her mine. After years of searching for her, I've found her, and I'm never going to let her go.

She dips her head to run her tongue down the column of my neck, which causes me to throw my head back against the couch. My nails dig into her hips, and when she begins to grind against my hard-on, I can't take the pleasure anymore. Knowing she's mine and having her grind on me is going to make me finish way too damn quickly.

I begin to stand up so I can flip her onto her knees, but she presses her hand flat against my chest, her eyes filled with liquid heat locking onto mine. "Don't," she pants. "I want...I want you like this."

So much for not finishing quickly.

We're a clash of teeth and tongues while we discard our clothes. I toss her t-shirt onto the floor, she does the same with mine. I buck my hips up to slide my sweatpants and briefs down while she shimmies out of her leggings. The last task is her bra, which I unhook with ease and fling to the other side of the couch.

Her body trembles when she lines my cock up with her entrance. I tilt my chin up for her to look me in the eyes again. "Are you sure about this?"

"I've never been more certain of anything," she replies.

I'm held hostage and frozen in place as she sinks onto my cock. The breath is stolen from my lungs from the feeling of her stretching for me to fit perfectly inside, and when our eyes clash again, we both can't seem to look away.

"Fucking perfect," I whisper, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

Aria's eyes glisten with tears when she begins to move, a smile taking over her face. I"m not sure how long she's denied herself this pleasure, but I'm sure as fuck feeling honored she's crossing this boundary of hers with me. That connection we felt between us in The Maldives all those years ago flares to life again. I can't get enough of her. I'll never get enough of her.

"Connor," she laughs in disbelief, grasping the sides of my face. I trail my fingertips down her spine as she rides me, but the feeling of her pussy is nothing to the feeling flooding my chest knowing she's having some sort of revelation right now because of me. I'm making her feel like this, and that rush of pride that knowledge brings me is more than an orgasm ever could.

"I know, baby." I sink further into the couch to stick a nipple of hers into my mouth, running my tongue along the sensitive bud. "Ride your cock. Just like that."

She refuses to let her eyes drift away from mine, and I refuse to let her. When I feel her thighs start to shake, I take over and drill my hips up to meet hers, earning a cry of bliss in return. Her hands fall to the back of the couch beside my head, jaw dropping open. She's an actual goddess that I'll never tire of admiring.

"Connor, I—" A scream cuts off her sentence when I sink deeper into her, hitting that spot I know she desires. Our bodies are slick with sweat as we move together as one, and Aria stares into my fucking soul while I take her hard and fast.

"Come for me," I plead, attempting to hold back the tingling building at the base of my spine. "I'm yours Aria. Yours to love, to fuck, to hurt, to console, to cherish. Every single part of me belongs to you."

The release barrels through us both. Her legs are quivering when she breaks eye contact to throw her head back, and I'm cursing up a fucking storm beneath her while trying to ride the wave of her orgasm.

"I..." She's out of breath when she collapses beside me, closing her eyes in pure and utter contentment. "That was..."

"Yeah," I agree. "I know."

"Do you want to spend the night? Because I really want to do that again." She nods like she's fantasizing fucking me a thousand different ways. "And again and again and again."

I scoff. "You think I'd miss out on watching you put together your grandma routine? Not a chance."

She chucks a throw pillow into my face, causing me to laugh. "What? A grandma in her natural habitat? I'm not missing that."

"I hate you," she grumbles. "I'm also too tired to get up, so there's a high probability we'll be falling asleep here tonight."

I rise from the couch and pick her up swiftly into my arms. She weighs practically nothing. "Good thing you have a hot, extremely muscular hockey player who can toss you around like a potato sack, huh?"

Her head falls against my chest. "I think I'm starting to like having a boyfriend."

I nearly drop her on the stairs, but I quickly pull my shit together and adjust my grip.

Boyfriend.

I really like the sound of that.

Author's Note:

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