A Lifelong Promise

It took Paul a second to respond to Clare's lips on his. His heart was racing so hard that his body felt numb. He didn't know what to expect when he showed up at Clare's with James there begging her for another chance. Paul wasn't stupid- he knew that there was a good chance of her giving in to her husband. She had before, she could again. She'd married the guy, there was history there, and when she looked at Paul like he was the only thing in the world that she could see, subsequently pushing James away, it made Paul weak in the knees.

He slid his hands on her waist and wrapped his arms around her. His senses finally kicked in and he hungrily pulled her to him kissing her back, feeling her fingers in his hair squeezing into him. She finally pulled back just enough so that the tips of their noses were touching and let out a little moan. "Thank you."

Paul's heart was still racing as he tried to catch his breath. "For what?"

"For showing me what it's like to have someone care about you," she whispered with her lips practically touching his. "For being there for me even when I didn't know you were. For not letting me fall."

"Clare..." he breathed out with her pressed against him. Just as he was about to continue speaking Clare pressed her lips back to his and slid her tongue in his mouth. His cock was hard and at attention and before he could think straight he bent down, running his hands down over her ass and to the back of her thighs, picking her up off her feet and began to carry her to her bedroom.

She held onto him tightly and continued to kiss him. She moved her lips from his to his neck and collarbone, torturously teasing him with her hot breath and sweet, wet tongue. He didn't let her go until she was on the bed, and when he put her down she wouldn't let him go. He ripped at her shirt, mauled at it until it found its place on the floor- it took about five seconds for his to find its own place next to hers. Paul kissed down her neck and made a trail down to her breasts. He forcefully pulled down one of the cups of her bra until her erect pink nipple was staring back at him. He flicked it with his thumb and felt her respond against him before he dove in and took the whole thing in his mouth. He bit at it, sucked at it and flicked it with his tongue as he continued to explore her body with his hands. As he continued his ministrations on her beautiful and delicious bud, he quickly flickered his eyes up and saw her head was tossed back in pure ecstasy. Paul pulled back and kissed in between her perfect breasts before continuing down to her flat abdomen where he slowed to a stop and rested his head against her soft skin.

So many emotions were coursing through his body as he laid there with her half naked. He lifted his head off her warm body and slid back up to kiss her lips softly. "Clare," he breathed out as he nuzzled his nose against hers. "I'm in love with you."

When he looked down at her, he could see the tears welling in her eyes. Thing was- they weren't the same kind of tears she'd had not that long ago, when James was there and she was in emotional hell. These were different, they were...happy. He could see her lips curl up into a sweet, genuine smile and she closed her eyes as she nuzzled back against him. He didn't expect her to say anything back, and he wouldn't blame her if she didn't feel the same way. But it was something he needed to get off his chest. He didn't realize he'd been suppressing it for so long, and he thought when he said it he'd feel guilt- like the biggest asshole in the world for falling for his friend's wife. But instead, when he said it, he felt something else- it felt right.

"I-I..." he heard Clare began to say and he pulled his head back to look at her with wide eyes. He didn't know if she'd say it back but waiting to find out had him unable to breath. "I love you, too," Clare finally whimpered out softly.

"You...you do?" he asked her as he wrinkled his brow. "Really" He didn't think it was a realistic response for her to feel it back.

She gave a quick nod and held the back of his neck as she looked in his eyes. "Yeah...I do."

"Really?" he asked again with a little bit of a relieved laugh.

"Yes!" she exclaimed with a burst of laughter herself. "It's something I'd been thinking about for a while and then a heck of a lot last night...and then I kind of figured it out for sure when James was standing in front of me tonight."

Paul held her gaze for a few moments before he crashed his lips back down onto hers. He crawled on top of her and felt her immediately reach for his belt buckle, undoing it along with his jeans and pushing them down. He kicked them off the rest of the way until he heard them hit the ground and quickly went to get hers off. Once they were on the ground he pulled her up and practically ripped her bra in two he couldn't wait to get it off. He pressed his naked body against her own and kissed her there under the warmth of her covers. He cupped her breast in his hand and slid it down between her lips into the moist, hot pool of juices she'd made for him. He smiled to himself as he heard her moan at his touch and worked her body until she was on the brink of orgasm. He positioned himself between her legs and grabbed his dick in his hand to guide it to her opening. When the tip of himself touched her he felt her begin to tremble- it was then he realized she'd only ever been with James and he got a spell of doubt.

"Are you sure?" he whispered as he looked at her and she gave a nod before reaching up and giving him a reassuring kiss.

He pushed into her, threw his head back and let out a moan at how good she felt. She wrapped her arms around him and dug her fingers into his back- already almost there from the work his fingers had just finished doing to her. She was trembling beneath him from this new place they'd entered in their relationship. It was unfamiliar territory they were exploring and after getting over the initial nerves, they were able to find a pleasurable rhythm. Paul continued doing whatever made Clare feel good- he could tell by her moans and gasps for air what was doing it for her- and when her noises peaked and her fingers clutched him, he knew he'd completed his mission. Once she was down from her high he let himself go and let out the most intense orgasm he could remember.

After cleaning themselves off they crawled back into bed, getting tangled up in each other's naked, satisfied, bodies. When Paul looked at Clare he could see her wiping away a single tear. "Are you alright?" he asked hoping that he didn't push for more than he should have.

"Yeah," she nodded as she looked at him and gave a little sniffle. "It's just weird to me, I've never been with anyone else..."

"I know," Paul said as his eyes fell.

"No!" she immediately gasped as she realized what he must have been thinking. "I didn't mean it like that. I wasn't comparing you at all." She took his face in her hands and forced him to look at her. "I was just thinking how I couldn't imagine being with someone I didn't love. I just don't think I could be that intimate with someone I didn't have that specific connection with and with you...we shouldn't work, but we do. And I shouldn't feel the way I feel for you...but I do."

"Yeah I'm pretty sure everyone on the team hates me. You don't get involved with your teammates girl and I did. I crossed so many lines but you're worth it."

"I'm probably the Yoko that broke you two up," she sighed. "The whore that hopped beds from one to the other. I don't...I don't want to cause any locker room division."

"No," Paul shook his head. "That couldn't be further from the truth. And he knows it, everyone else does too. It's not about you- they'll blame me. Whatever happens, I made the choice a while ago that you're more important to me than my friendship with him...or with anyone for that matter. I'll get traded or go somewhere else before giving you up."

"I don't want to have to make you do that. I don't want to make your life worse. This whole thing isn't fair to you. You shouldn't have to deal with the fallout of my divorce."

"Are you kidding? Clare I've been in relationships and pretty serious ones at that. But for some reason, I think the girl I've been waiting to take the next step with is the one in my arms right now."

Clare smiled and pulled him into her, embracing him and burying her face in the crook of his neck. "Why are you so good to me? I never understood it. And the flowers? Why didn't you tell me."

"Because even though a part of me that I refused to acknowledged wished I was lucky enough to be the one to come home to you, I wanted you to be happy- and I wanted him to make you happy. I hated seeing you so miserable and every time you'd leave crying over him I wanted to hit him just a little bit more. I never would have done anything if you were still with him and I'd be happy for you, I really would. I just needed to know you were smiling, and if that meant you thinking he did it, well that was fine by me...because at least I knew you were happy. Then when I saw you and you told me about it and saw how damn happy you were- the spark was back in your eyes- it was totally worth it."

"What are you gonna do?" she asked him without needing to say more. He had practice in the morning and he would have to deal with the fallout with James.

"I don't know," he breathed out. "I told you, it'll be okay no matter what. What about you? Are you gonna be able to deal with him? Are you sure you can handle being in a relationship so soon after a years-long marriage..?"

Clare nodded her head and took a moment to configure the words she was about to speak. "I don't believe in divorce. I went into it prepared to spend the rest of my life with him and willing to make it work no matter what. Marriage isn't something you go into lightly. It's a lifelong promise you make to someone and, to me, there are only two reasons that would end my marriage. Abuse, which he'd never do. And infidelity. That, well, not only was he unfaithful, he was unfaithful many many times. He broke our vows, he broke the promise we made to each other, he pulled away from me a long time ago. I guess I didn't realize it because I wanted to make it work, but I've been mourning the end of my marriage for a long time now."

Paul nodded as he understood what she was saying to him. "Look, I know that this is a discussion that isn't the most comfortable in the world for you, and there isn't any way I can prove it, but I don't want you to worry about me when we're on the road. I've been faithful to you since before you even left him."

"What do you mean?" she asked genuinely touched by what he was saying to her.

"I mean that when I watched him make mistake after mistake it would make me sick. I haven't been with anyone in a long time because I wanted to be with you. It's a sucky feeling to have feelings that strong for your friends girl- wife no-less- but while I should have welcomed it when girls hit on me, I'd go home alone with you on my mind."

Clare pressed her lips to his as an instant response to his confession. "I really do love you," she panted into his mouth before pulling back to see his reaction. "I hope so," he sighed out. "Because I can't handle losing you at this point."

"I knew I was in trouble when I began to trust you over my husband. And I felt terrible about it, like I was doing something wrong. But you were honest with me, and kind to me- I knew he wasn't telling me the truth I just wasn't ready to see it. That's the funny thing about infidelity- it helps you get over the person a hell of a lot quicker than you ever thought was possible. Why should I want to be with someone who wanted to be with everyone else? And then the way you looked at me...after a while I realized we weren't just friends...and I didn't want to be. I loved every time you'd come over here at night, and I found myself waiting for you to knock on my door."

"What if he comes knocking on your door?"

Clare ran her fingers through his hair and kissed him softly on his lips. "He can knock all he wants. You're the only one I want to let in."

As they closed their eyes prepared to drift off to sleep perfectly content all tangled up in each other, Paul heard Clare's sweet voice. "Are you gonna be alright tomorrow? Really?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine. At the end of the day, I'll be coming home to you."

He kissed her as he held her close to him and as soon as he closed his eyes he heard her again. "I love you," she let out in a soft whisper. He couldn't help wondering how much she actually meant those words- but then he realized that they'd spent months getting to know each other. Spent night after night with each other, built a friendship, and used that time to slowly develop their feelings. He realized what he already knew. She wouldn't even consider sleeping with someone unless she really and truly loved them and there she was, naked and completely comfortable in his arms. It was then he stopped questioning how she felt and accepted the fact that she really did love him back.

"I love you," he replied with a smile on his face even though she couldn't see it there in the dark.