Chapter 29

For the next hour or so, we mingled with different people, several more of the same remarks being made. It seemed Alexis was the talk of the party, the women thronged to her. Finally it was time for the birthday girl to open her gifts, everyone gathered in the huge den. One by one, she opened a variety of gifts, some serious, some gag gifts, giving everyone a laugh. She finally got to the brightly decorated gold bag Alexis had brought in with her. She opened the card and announced to everyone this gift was from Alexis. She pulled the top few layers of tissue paper out, removing a small black velvet box. She opened the box to find a very nice pair of gold earrings. She squealed in delight, jumped up and ran over to hug Alexis. As she went back over to where she had been sitting, Alexis told her there was one more gift in the bag. She looked down deep in the bag pulling out several more layers of tissue paper. I almost died, when she pulled out one the new Hyper Dunk tee shirts from the bag. It was extra large, it would have to be a sleep shirt on her, I thought as she held it up.

“Oh, I really like this guy, not as much as Josh, but he’s pretty good too”, she laughed, “Thanks so much.”

Although I had noticed several people staring intently at me during the party thus far, no one had actually come up and acknowledged they knew who I was.

“Oh Sandy, he’s going to be crushed that you like Josh more. He may never get over it.” Alexis laughed.

“Oh he’ll never know.” she laughed, waving her hand at her friend.

“Uh yes he does know.” Alexis laughed back pointing over her shoulder at me.

It took a moment for the remark to register mentally I guess, then a sheer look of embarrassment crossed Sandy’s pretty face. She immediately lifted her hand covering her wide open mouth in surprise.

“You mean he’s ... he’s this guy?” she exclaimed, pointing to the shirt.

“Yep, that’s him.” Alexis giggled.

“Oh my God, I feel terrible.” she said to me, while everyone else was dying laughing.

“That’s ok Sandy, I will mention to Josh you’re his favorite, I’m sure he will appreciate it.” I said smiling.

“You really play for San Diego, you’re this guy?” she asked, still hesitant.

“I knew he looked familiar.” said one of the women standing across the room, “I have seen him on TV.”

Sandy got up and walked around the sofa, coming up to me with her arms extended outward. I bent down as she hugged me tightly, then let me go.

“I’m really pleased to meet you, even if I did put my foot in my mouth.” she giggled.

“It’s ok Sandy, Josh is most everyone’s favorite player, it comes with the job.” I replied.

By now the news had circulated around the room about what had happened, the room was packed with people. She walked back around the sofa to her seat, sitting down opening the last few presents. She was finished rather quickly, then once again thanked all of her guests. I was standing against one wall with Alexis, when Sandy came back around holding the shirt in her hand.

“Would you mind autographing my shirt for me?” she asked meekly.

“Not a problem, you have a Sharpie anywhere?” I replied.

She scurried quickly out of the room, returning quickly with a large black permanent marker. I walked over to the dining room table, laying the shirt out flat on the table. I had the large gold lettering facing up, since it was the brightest color, I was going to sign inside the number eighty nine. Before I did, I turned to Jenny with a smile.

“You want me to sign my name, or would you prefer Josh Henson?” I said, trying my best to sound irritated.

“Oh he got you good girl.” Alexis laughed at her friend.

I turned back around and wrote inside the letters :

“Best Wishes Jenny, Brian Stevens, # 89”

I handed the shirt back to Jenny with a smile, she graciously hugged me again.

“Would you mind taking a picture with me too?” she asked, grinning.

“Sure, no problem.” I replied.

She ran back into the house and returned shortly with a digital camera, handing it to Alexis. She quickly explained the controls to her friend, then picked up the shirt, standing next to me. We each held one corner of the shirt, as Alexis snapped several pictures. She thanked me once again, then moved towards Alexis. Before she could get the camera from her friend, several other people asked if I minded taking pictures with them. I must have taken at least a dozen or so pictures with different people before all of the requests, seemed to be fulfilled. I found my way back to Alexis, who seem to find all of this amusing.

“I’m sorry, I let the cat out of the bag.” she giggled.

“No, you’re not. You’re enjoying this.” I answered.

“Yea, I am.” she laughed.

It was amusing to see how differently I was treated at the party, after they found out what I did for a living. I had beautiful women come up to me and just strike up a conversation, no reservations what so ever. Every time I seemed to look over at Alexis for help, she was giggling at me. The rest of the night was pretty much routine, we decided to leave somewhere around eleven thirty. On the ride home, I asked Alexis if she wanted to stop for coffee or something to eat. She told me she could put a pot of coffee on at her place, if I wanted to stay for a cup or two. Since I didn’t have to get up early the next morning, I accepted her gracious offer.

We were back at her place a little after midnight, the coffee was brewing. I was sitting on the sofa as Alexis was in the kitchen getting everything ready. A few minutes later she was back with a large tray, two cups of coffee, cream and sugar. I noticed that she once again sat relatively close to me, as she had done the night we had shared our past experiences with each other.

“Brian, I can’t thank you enough for saving me tonight, I had such a great time.” she said, softly.

“It was fun, anytime I can get my mind off the game for a while, it feels good.” I replied. “Besides, I had the prettiest date at the party.”

“Oh you’re just being nice. I saw all those girls hitting on you.” she giggled.

“None of them compare to you.” I stated quickly, looking deep into her eyes.

I immediately saw the change in her mood, I had caught her off guard, which was usually the position I found myself in. I saw her swallow hard, her eyes blink several times, then finally taking another long sip of coffee.

“Thank you Brian, you don’t know how good that makes me feel. It’s been a long time since I even considered what a man thought of me in that way.” she said, touching my hand gently.

I decided for once in my life to seize the opportunity, not wait around for someone else to make the first move. I quickly seized her small hand in mine, holding it gently but firmly, looking into her eyes. I could sense she was extremely fragile to say the least, but thankfully due to our previous conversation, I knew the reason why. I knew I was going to have to be very gentle, very patient and understanding, if any type of relationship between us was even possible. To her credit, she didn’t pull back away from me, instead she held my hand in response, it was a good first sign.

“Brian, I don’t ... I mean you know about...” she stuttered.

“It’s ok Alexis, relax. I promise you, I would never do anything to hurt you.” I answered, looking deep into her eyes.

“I do so want to believe that Brian, I really do.” she responded.

She leaned forward slowly towards me, almost like she was about to do something for the first time. I knew emotionally she was taking a huge leap of faith, I didn’t want to let her down. I met her half way, my lips softly touching hers in a brief, very soft and moist kiss. It lasted for maybe five seconds, bit it was the most intense kiss of my life. I can’t explain the electricity that shot through my body, the mind numbing effect her lips had on me. When she finally pulled way, her eyes were still closed, almost like she was afraid to open them. She finally lifted her eyelids, a soft, gentle smile on her face. She leaned back in again, this time with a little more hunger, a little more urgency. I reached over and placed my hand on the back of her neck, as our lips pressed together, her breath warming my face. After several seconds, I felt her lips part slightly, the tip of her tongue brushed my lips. I decided to be very delicate in my response, my own tongue, softly brushing her lips in response. Once again, after perhaps a half a minute, she pulled back away from me slowly.

“You ok?” I asked, whispering.

“Oh yea, I’m ok.” she answered, a deep tone to her voice.

For the next twenty minutes or so, we passionately kissed on the sofa, like two young teenagers making out for the first time. Other than our lips on each others, there was no touching of any kind, even though I desperately wanted to ravage this gorgeous woman. I knew that if I moved too fast, I might ruin any chance there could be anything between us. Finally looking at the clock, I decided that perhaps we both needed to cool off a bit.

“It’s getting late, I’m going to go my place.” I told her, my hand brushing the hair out of her face.

Those light green eyes, those soft understated Asian features, that jet black straight hair just mesmerized me. God, I wanted so much more, the urge was almost unbearable. It took everything I had to maintain my composure, not wanting her to see right through me.

“Brian, I want to ... I ... know you...” she began.

I said nothing, I just gently raised one finger placing it across her soft moist lips, my eyes locked on hers.

“Alexis, we have all the time in the world. Nothing needs to be rushed.” I whispered.

I could see in her eyes, I said the one and only thing that she was wanting to hear. She reached over and wrapped her arms around my neck hugging me tightly, whispering a thank you in my ear. I squeezed her tightly, then got up making my way to the door, holding her hand tightly in mine. When we got to the door, I leaned over and kissed her quickly again on the lips, then told her to lock the door behind me. I stepped out, the door closed, I heard the dead bolt turn in the cylinder. I finally exhaled deeply as I walked the two doors down to my unit. My heart was racing, my body still on fire, I don’t think I had ever felt this alive in my life. I got undressed and into bed quickly, although it took me well over an hour to get to sleep.

I woke up Saturday morning sometime around nine, for some reason I was still exhausted. I know I laid in bed for at least an hour before finally getting up and putting my feet on the floor. My thoughts quickly returned to the night before, closing my eyes trying to recapture the moments. I finally got up, took a shower and dressed casually in shorts and a tee shirt, planning on going down to the pool later and just relaxing. I ate a small breakfast, fighting the urge to call Alexis several times in less than an hour. Sometime right after noon, I grabbed a towel and headed down to the pool. It was somewhat overcast, the clouds almost completely blocking out the sun. As I got down to the courtyard area, I could see that the pool was much more crowded the normal. I found an open chaise lounger at one end and sat down, laying my phone and towel on the table next to me. There were three young girls in their early twenties right next to me, wearing very skimpy bathing suits, all three of them very attractive. They were whispering back and forth to each other, then looking in my direction. I pretended not to notice, paying no attention to anyone, minding my own business. I had been there for about thirty minutes when I heard one of the girls sitting next to me speak out a little louder than normal.

“Excuse me?” I heard from my left.

I pushed my sunglasses down and looked in the direction of the voice, the smaller of the three girls in the chair closest to me, was leaning in my direction.

“Yes?” I asked.

“You’re the football player that lives here right?” she asked.

“Yes ma’am, I am.” I responded.

“I thought so, I have seen you around the complex a few times. I’m Cindy, this is Janet and Debbie.” she answered, pointing to her friends, respectively.

“Nice to meet you ladies.” I answered, trying to be polite.

“Uh, you want to join us over here for a few beers?” the petite brunette asked.

“Thank you ma’am but I rarely drink, and never during the season.” I replied.

“Oh ok, well you can still join us if you would like.” she told me, a very dangerous smile on her face.

I didn’t want to seem impolite, but I had little interest in joining the three women, I was trying to think of a clever excuse. Luckily I happen to glance in the direction of my unit to see Alexis walking toward the pool, apparently she had the same idea I had. It gave me the perfect out.

“I’m waiting for someone, but thank you very much.” I answered.

Before the girl could respond, Alexis was in earshot, all three girls watching her approach. You couldn’t help yourself, Alexis was a woman that men drooled over and other women found it easy to dislike. It simply appeared she had no physical flaws what so ever.

“Cindy, you trying to cut in on me?” Alexis laughed at the petite brunette.

“I didn’t realize you had dibs on him yet, Alex.” the girl giggled back.

“I don’t, he is fair game, but just so you know, I might be in the hunt.” Alexis replied.

I’m not sure why, but suddenly I felt very uncomfortable being referred to as the new prey of the complex. I pulled my glasses back down and returned my head to the chair. Alexis was standing over me, a twinkle in her eyes. I raised my glasses once again to acknowledge her presence, making sure I let her know I was glad to see her.

“Hey Alexis, glad to see you.” I told her, warmly.

“I was over there watching you for quite a while, I have to say I was impressed at how well you behaved.” she stated, pointing to the covered staircase at the end of our unit.

“I always behave girl, I told you that.” I replied, seemingly unconcerned, but very relieved I handled the situation as I had.

“Apparently so, so far so good.” she laughed.

I got up and offered her my chair, telling her I would go across to the other side of the pool to get one that wasn’t being used. She readily accepted my chair, laying her towel down over it, then lowering her long sleek body into the chaise. I grabbed the chair and walked my way back to her, setting my chair down next to hers. We had been laying there for a few minutes when she turned to me.

“I had a hard time going to sleep last night.’, she said softly.

“I know the feeling.” I laughed.

Without much warning, large rain drops started to fall on the courtyard, everyone jumping up and grabbing their belongings. Alexis sat up in her seat looking over at me, a comical look on her face.

“You’re not going inside?” she asked.

“What for? I came out to go swimming, I was going to be wet anyway. There’s no lightning or thunder, it’s perfectly safe.” I answered.

She just sat there for a second, looking up into the sky, large raindrops continuing to hit the pavement with no apparent pattern. She shrugged her shoulders and laid back down on the chaise lounger, by now the entire courtyard had taken refuge elsewhere. The rain began to come down quite steady, within minutes both of us were soaking wet. It felt quite good, the rain was cool and refreshing, the temperature was dropping. I jumped up, threw my glasses on the table between us, took off my shirt then dove in the pool head first on the deep end. I came up about half way across the pool near the safety rope, turned and looked back in Alexis’ direction. She had already taken off her swim suit cover, exposing her black nylon bikini, which quite frankly was jaw dropping. She dove into the pool as well, I watched her swim in my direction below the surface of the water. She popped up right next to me, her hands grabbing for the large, blue and white safety rope stretched across the middle of the pool.

“You’re right, this does feel good.” she stated, pushing the wet hair out of her eyes.

I could feel her long muscled legs, brushing against mine as we both treaded water, our bodies facing each other. I felt her right hand suddenly on my hip, holding on for some support. Soon her body was flat up against mine, her right arm firmly around my waist. I leaned over slowly making sure she understood I wanted to kiss her. I pressed my lips to hers gently, waiting for her to respond. Again it took a few seconds, but she was soon pressing her mouth against mine, her lips slightly parted, her tongue brushing against mine.I could sense she felt a little more at ease with me, I felt her her fingers stroking my lower back. She pulled her lips away from me, then pushed off with both hands, swimming across the deep end to the concrete stairs cut into the side of the pool wall. I followed her quickly, pulling myself up on the bottom step next to her.

The rain was still falling steadily, the feel of the cold rain on my head, combined with the warmer water of the pool gave me a quite unique feeling. We were both sitting on the bottom step, the water up to our shoulders, the rain soaking our faces. This time she leaned over to me, once again her lips sending electricity to every nerve ending in my body. I shifted my body weight on the concrete step nervously, I felt my cock hardening, I couldn’t stop the feeling. Then I felt Alexis’ hand on my thigh, jolting me into an entire new dimension. As her tongue gently probed my mouth, my cock was straining against the nylon fabric of my swim suit.

Thankfully, she lifted her lips from mine, her eyes looking deep into mine.

“Let’s go back upstairs.” she whispered softly.

“Um, that might be a little difficult right now Alexis.” I replied somewhat embarrassed.

“Why ... Ohhhhhhhhhh.” she exclaimed suddenly, a nervous grin crossing her face.