You Always Go And Rescue Me

Ch. 14

Zach had never just walked out before. I was still in shock that he had, but furious over all the accusations he was making. I didn’t care how angry he was, there was no logical explanation for him saying the hurtful and ridiculous things that he said.

I stood in place for a good five minutes, not sure if I should be angry or run after him, hoping he would come back, but he didn’t. I went and started cleaning up the mess in the kitchen from making breakfast and ran his words through my head as I fiercely dropped each dish in the sink.

Could Zach honestly believe the things he was telling me? Did he really think I was upset about him talking to Marc because I had feelings for him? He was an idiot if he thought so, and the more I thought about it the angrier I became.

After I showered and got dressed I had to make my way down to work because I had a meeting I had to attend. I was running five minutes early for once and stopped to get coffee at Starbucks. I ordered my usual and had just received my drink when I quickly turned around and ran into someone. The coffee’s almost spilled and because I was already in a bad mood I was quick to get annoyed. Until I realized I knew the person.

Her name was Courtney, we had pretty much grown up together. We went to the same college and graduated at the same time but she had gotten a job in Boston, and with the stress of all the hectic adjustments going on in our lives we hadn’t spoken in a long time.

When she looked up she knew who I was.

“Sarah! Oh my God, girl! I haven’t seen you in forever! What are you doing here!” A smile spread across her face as her excitement was evident.

“I live here,” I said with a laugh, “What are you doing here? I thought you were in Boston!” I smiled as she pulled me into a bug hug.

“Ugh, well you know-it’s Boston,” she was referencing our loathing- ness for any team that came out of Massachusetts, but it was a job offer with good pay, so she had to take it at the time. “I did what I had to, but there was an opportunity to get transferred to the city to cover the Knicks, so I jumped on it. I’m actually really glad I ran into you, I knew you were living here and I wanted to call you when I got settled.”

She was so happy that her brown hair was practically bouncing with excitement. I had to admit it was great to see her, I had missed her and I regretted the fact that we fell out of contact.

“I’m really glad you’re here…I’ve missed you! It’s been too long, I’m sorry we didn’t keep in touch.”

“Oh, it’s water under the bridge at this point. It was both our fault. So what’s new with you? You have a few minutes or do you gotta book it out of here?”

“Well, I have a meeting that I should probably be on my way for, but let’s meet up afterwards. The game doesn’t start til tonight and I don’t have to be there until later, so I’ll have some free time in like…hmm…two hours or so? I’ll call you?”

We exchanged numbers and with the promise of calling, I left for my meeting. It definitely wasn’t going to be a problem meeting up because even if Zach and I did make up he still had to be at the rink, so there was no chance in me seeing him until after the game anyway.

I sat in my meeting as my mind wandered. I thought about Zach when we weren’t in an argument, but now that we were the time just seemed to drag on by. I wanted to be out of here and into Zach’s arms, but I wasn’t going to be the first one to apologize. I was stubborn too. Besides, I wanted to see Courtney, it was so great to reconnect with my friend who I used to be so close with.

When the meeting was over I checked my silent phone and realized that I still didn’t have any messages or missed calls from Zach-which infuriated me more. I called Courtney and we decided to meet for lunch at a small place not too far away.

When I got there, I expected her to be waiting for me since she was closer, but true to her character, she was always at least ten minutes late. I took my seat and waited for her. As I sat there looking at the menu, I started to realize that Zach might’ve had a point. As much as I hated to admit it, he was right. He had every reason to be upset…he might not have handled it in the right way, but I was the silly one, I was wrong. He loved me and he was uncomfortable with another man having feelings for me and I totally disregarded his feelings.

I was so busy coming to the realization that I had pushed Zach away that I didn’t notice Courtney vibrate on over to our table.

“Hey Sar, sorry I’m late.” She sat down and let out a sigh.

“Eh, what else is new,” I said with a laugh. “I see you haven’t changed one bit.”

We laughed as the waitress came over to take our orders. I knew what I wanted since I had been waiting there for so long. As we handed her our menus, Sarah and I resumed talking.

“So, what has life been doing for you? How’s work?”

“Work is great…it’s work. I’m really enjoying where I am at this point.”

“Okay…I have to ask you something,” she said with a nervous laugh.

“I had to meet up with my boss quickly and a lot less briefly than you did while you were in your meeting. I saw a few colleagues and was so excited that I saw you that I told some of the guys about running into you. I thought maybe some people might know you since it’s The Garden, and when I brought you up, a few people made a comment about you dating one of the players. Is that true?”

I got a pit the size of Alaska in my stomach. People knew about Zach and me? First of all, how- and secondly, is my job in jeopardy? Crap. I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t want to lie, but I didn’t want to tell the truth either…even though I didn’t really have anything to hide.

“Well, ummm, I don’t think that’s anyone’s business,” I said very uneasy.

“So it is true, isn’t it? You’re dating Zach, aren’t you? I can’t believe it!” Her smile was more of a congratulatory one opposed to an “ah-ha, I’ve caught you,” smile, but I hadn’t really talked to anyone about us other than fellow players who had no problem with our relationship.

“Courtney!” I couldn’t help but blush. The girl knew me, and I couldn’t deny it. “Yes, I am. I’m with him…but you can’t confirm it to anyone, I don’t want my job to be put into jeopardy because of my relationship with him.”

“Okay, okay, that’s the easy part. Now, tell me everything!” she squealed.

So I did. I told her everything from the beginning. I told her about Sean and I told her about Zach and how I fell in love with him. I had to admit it was nice to have another girl to gush about my boyfriend to. I hadn’t gotten to do that in so long.

I also told her about the argument we were currently in and how badly I felt for disregarding Zach’s feelings. She agreed that I probably should’ve been a little more understanding and that he did overreact, but it was only because he felt momentarily threatened. We had a stupid fight that we both allowed to escalate and after the dust had settled I realized just how silly I’d acted.

“Okay, enough about my life,” I tried to brush everything off. I was tired of thinking about him being mad at me. “Tell me about yours. Are you dating anyone?”

“Well, I dated someone back in Boston for a little while, but that didn’t go very far. So I’m single now…maybe I’ll luck out and find an incredibly gorgeous hockey player now that I’m in New York,” she joked.

“Well, knowing you, you’ll probably end up with a basketball player.”

Courtney laughed and we realized that we had to split up. I had to get to the arena and Court had to be on the courts tonight for the Knicks.

I got to the arena but I avoided Zach, I didn’t want to see him because I wanted to apologize to him in private, I didn’t think it was the most appropriate place, his place of work. So I made sure to not put myself anywhere he would see and be able to come talk to me. I tried to keep focused on the game but I desperately wanted to know if he was still angry.

About mid-way through the first period I finally had the courage to look over at him only to find him looking back at me. I knew his facial expressions and this one didn’t look too happy. He hadn’t been playing extremely well, for him he was a little off, but I could tell he didn’t want to argue anymore. I smiled at him and gave him a “I’m sorry” look, he partially smiled back at me and then we had to continue doing our jobs.

I did write him a note though, and left it in his locker. In it, I told him I was sorry, that I loved him, and that I hoped he would talk to me. I knew he would find it either during intermission or after the game was finished, but I was going to continue letting him cool off and I wasn’t going to pester him.

When the game was over I sat in on the coach’s press conference, finished up and went home. I didn’t change because I was still doing some stuff, but I threw on Zach’s hoodie. I was hoping to get a call from Zach at some point. When it was half past eleven I didn’t think I would hear from him that night. I felt just awful. I knew he was upset with me, but I didn’t think he was this upset to where he would ignore me for the rest of the night.

I was ready to just give up on hearing from him when my door buzzer went off. I was surprised to say the least, and I got butterflies in my stomach. I went over and opened the door, and when I did I saw Zach standing on the other side, with a beautiful bouquet of white roses. I smiled at him and pulled him into my apartment.

“Why didn’t you just let yourself in?”

“I wasn’t so sure I should. I wanted to apologize first.” I took the flowers from him and went into the kitchen to put them in a vase and some water.

“For what?” I said as I filled the vase with water.

“Being an ass. I shouldn’t have overreacted and said the things I said to you. I know that I have nothing to worry about, and I know you don’t have feelings for Marc, I just bugged out seeing him so close to you…seeing him have feelings for you,” He came over and wrapped his arms around my waist. “You’re my girl…and I know that sounds selfish, but I don’t want anyone else thinking you’re going to be theirs.” He was sincere and his voice had no hint of anger.

“No, you don’t need to say that you’re sorry. I was wrong,” I said as I wrapped my arms around his neck, “I disrespected your feelings and I didn’t listen to you….I know it was stupid and innocent, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t bother you.”

He smiled at me in relief.

“By the way, I’m never going to be anyone else’s.” I looked into his eyes and I could see how miserable he’d been all day.

“So you forgive me for saying the horrible things I said?” he asked with conviction.

“Of course, love. Oh, by the way, I ran into an old friend. Her name is Courtney. Anyway, she’s working for the Knicks now and she said that people are starting to talk about you and me…people know.”

He just looked at me with that sexy smile. “Let’s give them something to talk about then.”

And with that he grabbed me and pulled me closer as we slowly brought our lips together. He hungrily tightened his grip around me and was clawing at my shirt as I jumped up and wrapped my legs around his waist. He supported my weight and carried me into the bedroom, tearing my shirt off and throwing it on the hallway floor on the way.

He placed me down on the bed and I lifted the shirt and sweatshirt he was wearing off of his body. His chest was gleaming and my body was starving for him. He mounted himself on top of me and started to kiss me with a heightened passion. Our naked chests were pressed tightly up against one another and I could feel the beat of his heart against mine. My hands were tracing his body as they made their way down to his pants. We never broke apart our kissing as I unbuttoned his pants and slid them off his body and onto the floor. He returned the favor and now the only thing coming between us was my thong and his boxers.

As he grinded his hips into mine I could feel the anticipation and the longing in his body. I felt how hard he was through the thin material coming between us, and as our hunger for one another grew, I could feel my body going numb. We were panting but we never pulled our lips away from the other as we grinded our hips into each other, hard. I traced my hands along the muscles in his back one last time and brought them down to the front of his boxers, slowly pulling them off of his body.

I lifted my torso, giving him permission to remove my underwear and he did. He looked at me, he knew where this was going, as did I, and as he brought his face closer to mine he asked, “are you sure?” through heavy breathing.

I nodded my head.

I took a deep breath and felt him slowly enter me. Our lips reunited as our bodies became one, and everything about it was perfect. Our hearts were pounding in unison, harder than they ever had before, as we were thirsting, craving for each other…but it was also slow and passionate and romantic. We clung to each other and whispered, “I love you,” to one another numerous times. Our moans and gasps for breath became louder as he continued making love to me and our senses peaked. Nothing in the world had ever felt so right, or so good.

We spent the rest of the night holding each other and making love repeatedly under the covers. I couldn’t get enough of him and he couldn’t get enough of me, and we’d never felt more connected to anyone than we were to each other. We again had reached a new level in our relationship, and fallen more in love than we ever knew possible.