Free Struck By You: Players by I.M. Hicks

closet, she had put her hair down, her long blonde hair draping over her like liquid gold. She had moved the coffee table closer to the couch and took the blankets and made a bed for us in front of the fire. Another first, and I wondered why I never pulled that move on anyone else. She came back to me and helped me take the rest of my clothes off.
    “Does it hurt?” she asked gently touching the bruised area on my stomach I got from Tanner earlier.
    “No”
    She kissed the area and worked her way up my chest and to my lips. We made love for several hours in front of the fire and eventually drifted off to sleep.
     
         The rest of the weekend went pretty much the same as it had been weeks ago: we spent the entire time with each other, stopping only to eat.
         Monday morning, I went back to the spa and signed up again. By ten a.m. I was back in her class.
    She smiled when she saw me. I didn’t want to tell her that was my plan, but for some reason I needed to see her, and often.
    Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, she taught classes and I was there for every single one. Each time, we met in her special shower room and we fucked for hours. No one could hear us or see us, and it was perfect.
     
    I hadn’t heard from Tanner since the incident on Friday and I was still angry over the whole thing. I don’t care how drunk he was; he was still an asshole and way out of line. Plus the shit he pulled with Riley wasn’t sitting well with me at all, but I couldn’t come back on him for that.
    On my way to an interview Thursday morning, he called.
         “What is it Tanner?”
    “I’m pissed, that motherfucker Paul banned me from The Palace.”
         “I’m sorry to hear that but you deserved it. You were way out of line, and you should know better than to embarrass Carl like that. You’re lucky he’s not pressing charges or suing you for that matter.”
    “Shut the fuck up, he got in my face and you should have minded your own business.”
    “I don’t have time for this shit Tanner, I have an interview in ten.”
    “Oh hey, you never told me you hooked up with that yoga hottie,” he said and caught me completely off guard.
    “What are you talking about?”
    “She told me in so many words you two hooked up, you dog. She has a nice ass.”
    “I’m hanging up now”
    “Don’t hold out on me bro, I did suggest we’d tag team her. I think she’d be game for that.”
    I hung up and felt sick to my stomach. She said nothing about any of that when she told me my brother was groping her. I needed to talk to her but I had five minutes to my interview. I turned my phone off and decided I would pay her a visit after.
     
    I got to her condo a couple of hours later. I woke her up, as she’d had a late night at the bar.
    “Hey,” she said as she opened the door. She was wearing a white cropped tank and matching thongs which made me forget why I was there in the first place.
    “You always open the door dressed like that?” I asked as I closed the door behind me.
    “No, why?” she asked a bit confused. Truth was, I was trying to find a way to get mad at her so my erection would go away and I could address the issue.
    “Tell me Riley, what exactly did you say to my brother?”
    “I told you
–”
         “No, apparently you didn’t because see I just found out he knows we hooked up, from you.”
    “And?”
         “What do you mean ‘and’? We’re keeping this on the down low. Why would you tell him of all people?” I found myself raising my voice.
    “Oh my god Mason,” she began. “He told me you couldn’t close the deal with me, that you failed miserably. All I said was what makes him think you failed, then he said something about keeping it in the family and something about the three of us. It was disgusting and I didn’t feel the need to share that shit with you, that’s all. Can I go back to sleep now?” she said and sat on her couch.
    “I’m sorry, I thought, fuck, I