* I did a double update, so if you haven't read Chapter 27, go do so now!! *
TW: Mention of attempted rape.
I Put A Spell On You - Annie Lennox
Evelyn walked through the doorway as my jaw literally dropped to the floor. She was wearing a tight black dress with a v-neck that dipped down low, the dress reached the floor with a slit on the side that stopped mid thigh, showing off her perfect long legs and red heels. The dress was tight, but barely loose enough you couldn't see her stomach, which I know she was grateful for but I wouldn't care either way. She was beautiful no matter what, and the fact that she looked this amazing after just having a baby blew my mind away, she barely even had a postpartum stomach anymore anyways.
Her dark brown hair was in a low pony tail in loose curls, her lips painted red with lipstick, but not the bold slutty kind of red. Her makeup not too heavy, but enough you could tell she was wearing it. She was perfect, and she was all mine.
I finally came to my senses as she walked over towards me. I grabbed her hand pulling her to me, "Hey gorgeous."
"Hi handsome." She said, wrapping her hands around my neck. She fixed the color of my dress shirt, before she ran her hands down my chest. "I don't think I'll ever get tired of seeing you in a suit." She says taking her bottom lip between her teeth.
I wrap my arms around her waist as I lean down, kissing her hard. She leans into me, her hands tangling into my styled hair, pulling me closer to her. A deep noise escapes my throat as she giggles into the kiss. She pulls away, looking up at me. "We could just skip the gala, and go upstairs." She whispers.
"As much as I would love to do that, and trust me I really do. We didn't pay a lot of money for nothing, so we gotta at least, show our faces." I say, a pout forming on her lips.
"I know.." She says, straightening my black tie.
The door bell rings as she sighs and I remove my grip on her waist. Her heels click against the tile floor as she goes to let her mom in.
A minute or so later, she comes walking in with Kendra behind her. Kendra walks over, hugging me, "Well don't you look nice." She says, rubbing my back before pulling away and I smile at her.
"Thanks for watching him." I say as she swats her hand in the air.
"He's my grand baby, it's my job." She chuckles.
"Okay, he's had a bath already, I just changed him a little bit ago, he doesn't need fed for another half hour and there's a pre-made bottle in the fridge, make sure to pull it out a little bit before you feed him. He's in the swing in the living room. There's a play mat in there and you can move the bouncer if you need. Feel free to watch TV and help yourself to any food."
"Evelyn, I got him. I've done this three times, remember." Her mom says chuckling. "I get it, the first time you leave him is hard, it won't be easy for a while, but you'll get there. Now, go have fun, you need it more than you know." She says squeezing Ev's arm. We bid our goodbyes before Kendra had to force us to leave.
"No more than two hours?" Evelyn says, intertwining our fingers as we make our way to the front entrance to the hotel where the gala is being held. We walk up the stairs that are covered in black carpet and roped off on the sides where paparazzi is taking pictures.
"No less than thirty minutes?" I ask knowing we had to stay at least an hour.
"I wish."
"Mr. Rhodes, is it true that you have another baby on the way with another woman? If so, how does Mrs. Rhodes feel about it?" I hear someone ask, ignoring them. Evelyn squeezes my hand, causing me to look down at her.
"Don't listen to them." She says as we step into the revolving doors. We make our way inside, following the signs that lead to one of the ballrooms. Walking through the open double doors, my ears are greeted with the sound of lively chatter.
I spot our crew sitting over at a table, that is obviously ours. We make our way through before we're stopped by Quincy Jordan, starting centre for University of Mississippi. "Greyson Rhodes?" He asks, putting his hand out, "Quincy Jordan, I play for University of Mississippi."
He smiles up at me as I grip his hand, giving it a solid shake. "I know who you are. I've been watching your stats, you're going places kid." I say as his grin grows wider.
"It's a honor sire. Thank you. I look forward to playing against you one day." He says, shaking my hand one more time.
"I look forward to it." I give him a polite smile before we continue walking, Evelyn's warm hand wrapped around my bicep. My hands shoved in my pockets, people stopping us along the way.
We finally make our way to the table, everyone greeting us as I pull out Evelyn's chair and she sits down, crossing one leg over the other. I rest my hands on her shoulders leaning down by her ear, "I'm gonna grab us some drinks." I say squeezing her shoulders as she nods and pats one of my hands with her own.
Walking over to the open bar, I place my hands on the counter before a bartender comes over. "Yeah, can I get a Crown Royal on the rocks and a Antinori Tignanello." I say as he nods and I turn around, leaning my elbow against the counter. After another minute, two drinks are slid in front of me as I thank the man and leave a tip.
"Greyson Rhodes..." I hear a male voice behind me as he makes a "tsk" sound with his tongue. I stop in my tracks and turn around, coming face to face with none other than, Charlie Pearson, my former childhood bestfriend.
"Charlie Pearson. It's been awhile." I say, sipping my drink, only to realize I accidentally took a sip of Evelyn's wine, I slightly grimace before returning my focus back to this awkward conversation.
"Too long, man."
"And whose fault is that?" I ask, leaning against the counter once again.
He ignores my comment and nods towards Evelyn, "So, you got married, huh?" He asks as I nod. "Good for you. And the baby?"
"He's an angel." I say, wanting nothing more than to walk away.
"Shit, never thought I'd see the day."
"The day that you talked to me again?"
"Grey..."
"Don't call me that." I feel myself getting agitated as I grip my glass a little harder. "You lost that privilege the minute you did what you did." I say as he sighs.
"Come on Greyson. It's been five years." He says taking a step closer to me, as I take a step back.
"You fucked up Charlie, big time. I can't and I won't forgive you. Accept that and move on, I sure have." I say, pushing off the counter and walking back towards our table.
I pull out the chair, handing Evelyn's drink to her as I drape my arm on the top of her chair.
"Was that Charlie?" Chris leans over from beside me. Evelyn leans forward to look at Chris. "Wait, Charlie Pearson? Your friend in college that tried to rape some girl at a party?"
Chris's eyes widen as he moves his hand back forth in a 'cut it out' motion as I stiffen.
"Did you just say Charlie Pearson?" Aiden asks from across the table, his hand forming into a fist as Gracie's eyes widen.
Chris clears his throat as Evelyn looks at me, realizing something is wrong, her hand lands on my knee. She turns her head looking over at Aiden and Gracie, "Wait. Gracie, is... is he the guy?" She asks in a gentle but hesitant tone. I start to relax under her touch.
Gracie nods her head as Evelyn looks at me, "And is he the childhood best friend you don't talk to anymore?" She asks as I clear my throat before nodding. "Yeah." It comes out quieter than I expected. "I haven't seen him in five years." I say, looking over at Gracie. Aiden leans over and whispers something in her ear before I see her relax, resting her hands on top of her stomach.
Wanting to forget about Charlie for the time being, I stand up, buttoning the top button of my suit jacket. Evelyn looks up at me with furrowed brows. I place my hand in front of her, nodding my head to the side. "Come on, there's some people I want you to meet." I say as she stands up, drink in one hand, her other grabbing ahold of my hand.
We start to slowly make our way around the ballroom, making small talk with people, catching up with a couple of college friends, and even one or two high school teammates. A couple of team owners make jokes about me coming to play for them, which I respectfully decline.
I'm gonna make a trip to the ladies room." Evelyn says quietly as I nod, returning my attention back to the conversation I was currently in. A couple of minutes go by and I start to scan the room for Evelyn. Glancing at my watch I see it's already almost nine.
"What's Pearson doing here?" Amar Akhelish, a former college teammate Chris and I were talking to says. Pointing his finger towards the other side of the room, a beer in his hand. "Matter of factly, what's Pearson doing talking to your wife?" My head snaps to the other side of the room, quickly scanning the area until I spot him talking to Evelyn.
"That motherfucker." I say downing the rest of my drink before shoving my glass into Jake's chest.
I quickly make my way over there, Chris slowly following behind, just incase I need backup. My hands shoved in my pockets as I weave through people. I hear a couple of people call my name as I give them a polite smile and small wave, not wanting to be rude, but continue to walk at a fast pace.
I pass our table when I hear Aiden ask what's going on. Chris answers him before Aiden is following me too, ignoring Gracie's pleas not to.
As I get into earshot I hear Evelyn say, "It'd be really unfortunate if I walked away and accidentally stepped on your foot with my heel, and you couldn't play for a while, wouldn't it." That's my girl.
Her eyes find mine as a sense of relief washes over her face. I wrap my arm around her waist, "Did I say you could talk to her?" Charlie's eyes snap to mine, slightly widening.
"Grey, come on. We were just chatting."
"Quit calling me that." Evelyn's hand comes on top of mine on her waist.
"Jones?" Charlies says as Aiden comes up behind me.
"You must be itching to get another punch in the face." He says, standing at full height. Gracie comes up, wrapping her hand around Aiden's arm, trying to calm him.
"Gracie?" He asks looking confused as fuck.
"Do not talk to her." Aiden says in a tone I haven't heard him use since college.
"Wait. You guys are together?" He asks, motioning his hand between the two of them.
"Why are you still talking?" I ask, getting extremely agitated.
"Guys come on. It's been years, can't we move past it already? We've all done stupid things when we've been drunk, it was an accident." He says as Gracie scoffs.
"You call trying to fucking rape me, an accident? I trusted you, my brother trusted you, and you tried to take advantage of that." She says, tears forming in her eyes.
"And I'm sorry. I've said it a hundred times."
"Sorry doesn't cut it, Charlie. She told you to stop and you didn't listen. Thank God Aiden got there when he did." I say, my grip on Evelyn's waist slightly tightening.
"You guys need to learn how to forgive and forget." He scoffs before Aiden steps forward, his fist meeting his jaw.
Security quickly rushes over before people take notice at the scene unfolding. "Break it up. This isn't a hockey game." One guy says, pushing Aiden back. Aiden stands down as Charlie chuckles evilly, "One day you'll learn." He says before a security guard shuts him up.
"Alright, Time to go."
✳︎
My hands grip the steering wheel tightly, my knuckles turning white. Evelyn reaches over, grabbing one of my hands and lacing our fingers together, "Hey, it's okay. He didn't touch me."
I'm silent for a minute as the pad of her thumb moves back and forth across the back of my hand. "He could've, though."
"But he didn't. You made sure of that." Her voice was quiet and gentle, calming me down.
I rested the back of my head against the headrest as we came up to a red light. "Would it help if you told me about it?"
"You were there?" I say confused as she lightly chuckles.
"I mean the night at the party, in college. Have you ever talked about it with anyone?" She asks as I shake my head. "You can't keep something like that bottled up Greyson. He was your best friend and he tried to do that to your sister. That's not okay, and neither is keeping your feelings to yourself." I sigh, think momentarily, before realizing she was right.
"We had just won a game, and we were throwing a party at the hockey house..."
"Dude, that assist was beautiful." Charlie tells me, standing up from the couch on the back patio. I chuckle, bumping my fist with his own.
"As expected." I say as he grabs his empty beer bottle.
"I'm grabbing another drink, anybody need anything?" He says, his hand moving as he scans the sectional and everybody says no. "So, shots for everyone?" He says sarcastically before we all chuckle and he heads back inside.
"No, but seriously. You three make a great team." The blonde chick sitting on Chris's lap says.
"Oh yeah. We really wouldn't be able to get the ball in the end zone to score a 3-pointer without each other." I say as Chris lets out a laugh, both of us knowing she knows nothing about hockey.
"Oh totally." She says, pressing her hand against Chris's chest. Puck Bunnies. I internally roll my eyes.
The back door swings open when Charlie comes walking out, a fresh beer in hand.
He sits back down in his spot next to me. "Dude. I just saw your sister with Jones." He says as my head snaps towards him.
"What?" The back door slams shut and out walks none other than Aiden Jones, wide receiver for the football team. But what really grabs my intention is my sister swinging the door open, sobbing. "Aiden!" She yells grabbing his arm before he yanks it from her grip. His eyes scan around the yard as I sit up, intensely watching, switching into protective brother mode. His eyes stop when they land on Charlie. He quickly walks over to us as Chris, Charlie and I stand up, I step in front of him. He shoves me out of the way, before grabbing Charlie's collar. Before anyone of us can react, Charlie gets a right hook right in the face.
I pull Aiden off of him, shoving him backwards. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?!" My voice booms across the yard, all eyes on us.
"Greyson." Gracie comes up beside me, tears rolling down her cheeks.
"I'm a bit busy here, Gracie."
"Don't hurt him." Gracie says, placing her hand on my hand that was formed in a fist by my side. My head snaps in her direction. My face probably looking like I just saw a fucking unicorn.
"Did you not just see him attack Charlie?!" I ask, standing there dumbfoundedly.
"Tell him why, Gracie. Tell him why the fuck I just attacked his so called best friend." Aiden says, pointing at Charlie.
"What's going on Gracie? What happened?" I ask, my shoulders tensing. She looks down at her feet, wiping tears from her eyes, her hair slightly messy, and her makeup ruined. "Dammit Gracelyn tell me." I say, her head snaps up at me using her real name.
"He..." She starts to sob again, before turning to Aiden, who was furious, and burying her face in his chest as his arm wrapped around her.
"He tried to rape her, Greyson." Aiden says as I stand there, trying to process what he just said. "He put his hands on her. I walked in on her half naked and sobbing, trying to push him off."
I turn around, my eyes meeting Charlie's. "It's not true, I would never something like that. You're really going to believe that prick over me. I'm your bestfriend Grey." He walks over towards me. I was fuming at this point. "Come on Grey, don't do thi-"
My fist shuts him up as he falls backwards. "You always sucked at lying, Charlie."
"That's so fucked up." Evelyn says as we pull into our long, private driveway.
"Yeah." I say, pressing the button on the garage door opener, pulling in.
"I'm so sorry. I don't even know what else to say honestly, I know what I say doesn't change anything, but I am sorry. I'm not sorry for him, because he lost some really amazing people in his life, and that was his fault and he'll get what he deserves. I know what I say probably doesn't matter because there isn't much I can do but, fuck him." Evelyn says softly as a small smile covers my face.
"You're amazing. And what you say does matter, all the time, no matter what anyone says." I say, before shutting the car off and turning to face Evelyn. "I don't need him anyways. I've got you and Ash, that's all I need in this world." A grin spreads across her face. "Well, maybe a couple more little Greysons..." I say as she laughs, before opening the car door and getting out.
We make our way inside, walking into the living room we see Kendra on the couch, Mia curled up on her lap, and Asher asleep in the cream colored baby lounger next to her, a pacifier about to slip out of his mouth. "Hey guys." She whispers, pausing the movie she was watching, before she stands up.
"How was he?" I ask, leaning against the door frame.
"An angel." She says, looking back over at him. "We played on the play mat together until it was time for him to be fed, then I changed him, and he's basically been knocked out since."
"He's always asleep." Evelyn says, softly chuckling. "Our pediatrician thought we were giving him melatonin."
"I'd probably be wondering the same thing. Some babies are just like that though." We talk for a few more minutes before she leaves.
Walking over to the couch, I scoop Asher up in my arms. "I'll put him down. You go do whatever you need to do." I say before I start walking out the living room, "Just, leave the heels on." I wink before heading up the stairs, wanting nothing more than to pull whatever panties she has on, off with my teeth.
I finished taking off my makeup and undoing my hair before walking out of the bathroom, the exact same time Greyson walks in. We meet each other in the middle of the room, lust filling the air. He slides his jacket off of his shoulders as he tosses it on the floor. Loosening his tie around his neck I slip it over his head, throwing it behind me as I untuck his shirt. He slips off his socks and shoes before lightly pushing me back on the bed. He crawls on top of me, caging me in between him and the mattress. He places open mouth kisses down my neck, stopping at my collarbone. "You have no idea how much I missed this." He growls, sliding off the bed before kneeling between my legs.
"Greyson."
His eyes shoot up to mine as he presses a finger on my clit through my panties. "Greyson, stop." I say and he immediately pulls his hand away before standing up.
"What's wrong." He asks as I sit up, reaching my hands up I start to undo the buttons of his shirt, one by one, until his toned, muscular chest comes into view. Sliding my hands up his chest, muscles moving underneath my touch, I slide his white dress shirt off his shoulders.
"I need you." I say, unbuckling his belt as he takes the hint and reaches down, sliding his dress pants down his legs, before stepping out of them.
"Stand up baby." He says, as I do so. He turns me around, running his fingers down my spine as goosebumps cover my body. He starts to leave a trail of open mouth kisses as his hand reaches the top of the zipper on my lower back. He slowly unzips it before sliding the straps of my dress off, and it falls to my feet. He turns me back around, his hands trailing down past my ass before gripping the backs of my thighs and lifting me off the ground, his lips connecting with mine as they move in perfect sync. He gently lays me on the bed, before he stands up, grabbing one of my legs he starts to slide my heel off. "Thought you said to leave them on?" I ask, already becoming breathless.
"Another time." His voice became low and smooth. "But tonight... Tonight I want to take my time with you."
He slides my other heel off as he starts kissing up my leg. Making his way to my black, seamless thong. Leaving a trail of open mouth kisses from the inside of my thigh to my waist. His teeth grab onto the waistband of my panties as he starts to pull them down, I slightly tilt my hips up so he can get them off. I feel his hot breath travel down my legs before his hand grabs the thong with his hand, tossing it on the floor behind him and I lay completely bare in front of him. His hands find my hips before he leans down, kissing his way up to my breasts. His tongue swirls around one of my hardened nipples as my hand tangles into his silky brown hair. My back arches against him as he pinches my other nipple with his fingers. His mouth switches to my other tit, as he continues to bite and suck on my nipple. "Fuck..." I mumble under my breath as a low chuckle escapes his lips, his hot breath hitting my sensitive bud.
His tongue travels between my both my breasts to my collar bone before he starts sucking, hard. My hands find the waistband of his black boxer briefs, and Greyson pulls away. His thumbs hooks inside the waistband as he slides them down his muscular legs, his thick cock springing free.
The bed dips between my legs as he climbs on top of me, his hands resting on either side of my head, my hands find their way to his back. He leans down, his lips connecting with mine, his back muscles flexing. The kiss is soft and gentle at first but then, it becomes rough and needy. He pulls away, looking down at me, his eyes filled with desire. "God, I missed this."
I softly chuckle, pulling him back down towards me, his lips crashing to mine again. His tongue finds the seam of my mouth as I happily let him in, our tongues swirling around each other's before he takes my bottom lip between his teeth, sucking hard. I feel one of his hands move from beside my head, before I feel his cock easing into me. My bottom lip still in his teeth, I throw my head back, a loud needy moan escaping my lips. The mattress slightly dips by my head as his hand returns there once he's all the way in. He wastes no time before he pulls out, thrusting back into me, his tongue dancing with mine once again. My hands grip his back tightly, pulling his body closer to mine like my life depended on it. He starts to go at a steady pace, not too slow, not too fast, hitting deeper into my core every time.
"Greyson.." My nails dig into his back as his forehead rests against mine, and a low growl escapes from the back of his throat.
"I love it when you say my name." He says, his voice low and seductive, my eyes shutting as he rocks in and out of me.
We're both breathing heavily, his forehead still on top of mine, my nails still in his back as I say things I'm not even sure are words. "Fuck, Evy." He groans, a deep moan escaping his mouth, turning me on even more.
"God.. Don't stop." I breath out, my leg wrapping around his waist, heel digging into his back. He picks up speed, his other hand finding its way to my thigh. My body starts to shake with pleasure as I feel that release coming. "Don't stop." My hands find their way to his face, pulling his lips to mine as I release all over his cock. A deep noise escapes his throat as he keeps rocking in and out of me before I feel his release coming. His mouth leaves mine, groaning before he collapses on top of me. His hot breath hits my shoulder as my hand is tangled in his hair.
After several minutes of us breathing heavily, tangled with each other, he pulls his head up, before sliding out and walking into the bathroom. About a minute later he comes walking out with a towel in his hand, reaching forward I go to grab it but he shakes his head, "I got it." My arms relaxes as he sweetly cleans my off, placing kisses on my skin in the process. He throws the towel in the hamper before climbing back into bed, "I'll go get Asher." I stand up, wrapping the sheet around me as Greyson nods.
Walking into Asher's nursery I see him sleeping peacefully in his crib he hadn't used until tonight. Carefully scooping him up in my arms I rest his head against my collarbone before making my way back into our room. Greyson raises his head from his pillow when he hears me. I gently lay Asher in the bassinet beside the bed before climbing under the covers. Greyson raises his arm as I slide underneath it, his face only inches away from mine. His eyes shut as he pulls me closer to him and I drape my leg over his waist, only a sheet between us.
"The fuck is this?" Greyson asks, lifting his head up and pulling the comforter back. He grips the sheet before unwrapping it from me and placing it over both of us. "There will be no barriers between us. Jesus woman, get it together." He says as I giggle and he drapes his arm back over my waist, his fingers lightly running up and down my back as his breath evens out. I feel his fingers slowly come to a stop as he falls asleep.
"Goodnight." I whisper before drifting off to sleep soon after.
Word Count: 4,689
So, a lot just happened lol.