Healed by Evan Grace

Chapter Ten

 

Colton

 

It’s still dark when my alarm goes off. I ease out of bed and stumble toward the bathroom. I’m meeting Tyrell at the gym to get a workout in before practice. After using the bathroom, I wash my face and brush my teeth.

I slip on some basketball shorts and t-shirt. I step around the bed until I’m on Heidi’s side. I sit next to her hip and brush her cotton candy pink hair out of her face.

She’s so fucking pretty, she takes my breath away. Her eyelids flutter open, and she pushes up, smiling at me with her sleepy grin. “Hi,” she whispers.

“Hey, I’m going to go meet Ty to work out. I didn’t want you to wake up and not know where I went.” I lean down and kiss her softly on the lips. “I’ll be back before you head to the studio.”

“’Kay,” Heidi whispers and then lays her head down. “Love you.” She closes her eyes and starts snoring softly.

“I love you too,” I whisper, even though I know she can’t hear me.

The sky is that dark inky blue. Traffic is light, but in thirty minutes or so it’ll start picking up. I reach the gym and park next to Ty’s minivan. I can’t help it and chuckle as he climbs out.

“Stop laughing, motherfucker. I make that shit look good.” He turns, twerking at me, and I kick him in the ass.

I jog away from him, laughing as he throws his duffle bag at me. We head into the locker room. “How are things with Heidi?”

I smile as I tuck my bag into my locker. “Great, we’re taking it slow—slower than I want—

but I’m afraid if I push too hard she’ll run.”

“I’m happy for you, brother. Moni will want to meet her and give her approval.”

“Sure thing, man. You set it up, and we’ll be there.”

We both slam our lockers shut and head out to start lifting.

 

***

 

Heidi holds my hand as we walk through the grocery store. I talked her into making her mom’s famous chocolate chip cookies, and in my other hand is the basket with everything we need.

It’s becoming harder and harder to keep myself in check around her. Every morning I wake up with a hard-on and her wrapped around me like a spider monkey. Don’t get me wrong, I love it, but she rubs against my dick, making it ache, and I can’t do what I want—strip her bare and thrust my cock inside her.

We kiss and cuddle, but we haven’t taken it any further. I’m letting her set the pace with the physical stuff. I know I’m lucky she’s even giving this a shot. I keep hold of her hand as we wait in line to check out.

I bring her hand to my lips, kissing the back of it. Heidi smiles up at me and bites her lip before turning away. We get to the checkout, and I let go to pay for the groceries. She grabs the bags.

“My parents want to see you.” They always adored Heidi, and they were so pissed at me about my decision to break things off. When I called Mom to tell her that Heidi was giving me a shot, she’d started crying—she was beyond happy.

“I’d love to see them,” she says as we step outside.

They moved home last week—I’m their only child and Mom doesn’t like being far away. We reach my SUV and I take the bags, loading them into the back. “They’re staying in a rental right now, but once they’re settled, we’ll set something up.” I kiss Heidi before helping her inside, shutting the door behind her. I climb in the driver’s side and we head home.

Back at my place I follow Heidi into the kitchen to watch her start baking. She looks perfect in my kitchen, and it feels right that she’s here. My heart clenches in my chest because I could’ve had this—had her for the past five years. I can almost imagine our kids running around. We’d probably have a dog or two, maybe a pet rabbit.

“Colton?” I blink and find Heidi standing in front of me. “Are you okay?”

I shake my head. “I-I.” I grab her hands. “Can I show you something?”

Heidi reaches up, cupping my face. “You can show me anything.” I lean down and kiss her softly.

“I’ll be right back.” I head into my bedroom and grab the journal out of my closet. It’s not a journal like one might think, but if I made it and beat cancer, I wanted to get my experience on paper so I wouldn’t forget, and if I ever saw Heidi again, I wanted her to see it that way she’d understand why I left her.

I find her sitting at the breakfast bar. I take the seat beside her. “I want to tell you about everything with the cancer.”

“Okay.” Heidi gives me a soft smile.

She opens the book and reads the first page. “I was so angry when I found out about the cancer. All I wanted was to marry you and play pro-ball. Mom immediately made me talk to someone. And he suggested writing down my thoughts.”

I don’t take my eyes off her as she reads the first few pages. Her tears drip down her cheeks, and a whimper slips past her lips when she lands on the picture from my first day of chemo.

My shirt is off, and the port I had placed is there for her to see. Heidi spends the next half hour reading each entry and staring at each picture. I hold her why she sobs at the picture of my dad shaving my head.

I hand Heidi a tissue when she gets to the last picture of me ringing the bell on the day of my last chemo treatment. She closes the book and doesn’t say anything. I watch her stand and let herself out of my backdoor.

“Fuck,” I whisper to myself. Maybe it was too much, too soon.

I open the door and spot her sitting at the stop of the steps. Her forehead rests on her knees, her cries soft and heartbreaking. I move across the deck and sit behind her, my legs snug against hers.

Heidi leans back against my chest. I wrap my arms around her, hugging her tight as she cries into my shirt.

“Baby, no more tears. I’m fine, I’m healthy, and I’m in remission.”

She shakes her head. “I know, but fuck… I’m mad at you. I would’ve helped you, taken care of you, and I hate the thought of you suffering alone.”

I kiss Heidi’s forehead. “Baby, I fucked up—I know I did, and I’m so sorry.”

We stay where we are until her tears dry up. I help her stand and lead her into the house a while later. “I’ll be back in a minute.” I watch her walk into the hallway and hear the “snick” of the bathroom door shutting.

“Fuck,” I whisper.

A moment later I hear her footsteps. She rounds the corner and comes toward me, wrapping her arms around my waist. I wrap her in a hug, kissing her forehead.

“Ow, shit.” I jump as Heidi pinches my side and then slaps my arm. “What was that for?”

“Don’t ever leave me like that again. We’re a team! If there is something to fight—we fight together.” She steps back and then pushes me. “Jerk-wad.”

I grab her and throw her over my shoulder, slapping her ass twice. “I see we’re still sassy as ever.” Heidi slides down my body until we’re eye to eye, her legs are wrapped around my hips. “Baby, I promise you we’ll fight whatever comes our way.”

“Pinky swear?” She holds up her pinky finger.

I do the same, saying, “Pinky swear,” and then wrap mine around hers.

Heidi’s eyes go soft and then heated. “Take me to bed, Colton.”

I freeze. “Are you sure?” I, of course, want that more than anything, but I need her to initiate it.

She gives me a smile and then nods. “I’ve never been surer.”

That’s all I need before I’m attacking her lips, forcing her mouth open with mine, and dipping my tongue inside. Heidi moans into my mouth the moment my tongue brushes against hers.

I move blindly through my house until I’m in my bedroom. She clings to me like a spider monkey as I climb onto my bed and lay her down so I can pull away to look at her. She’s a fucking vision with her cotton candy-colored hair spread across my pillows. Her lips are swollen from my kisses.

I grab the hem of her shirt and pull it up and off. The last time I saw her naked I didn’t get to truly admire her beautiful ink. It’s all shades of pink and feminine, all Heidi, but my eyes catch the tattoo right over her heart. “Love doesn’t live here anymore” is written in beautiful scrawl.

Pain hits me right in the chest. It takes her a second to realize that I’m looking at her tattoo. I close my eyes as shame fills me—I caused that pain, a pain that she went and had permanently marked on her skin.

Heidi grabs my face, and I open my eyes. “Whatever is going through your head, stop it.” She shakes her head. “It was a mistake. I was hurt and didn’t know how to channel it, or how to show it.”

I bend down, kissing over her heart and then laying my ear against her chest. Her heart beats wildly as she spears her fingers through my hair. I close my eyes as I listen to the rapid thump, thump, thump.

I pull down the cup of her bra, exposing her pink nipple. Heidi’s breath catches in her throat as I trace my finger around it, until it hardens. She shows me what she wants when she arches her back, thrusting her nipple into the air.

With a quick maneuver, I’m up and over her with her wrists shackled in one of my hands above her head. I use the other one to pull down the other cup of her bra, and I lean down, licking around the nipple until it hardens too.

Heidi squirms under me, thrusting her pussy against my cock. “Stop teasing me,” she moans.

I remember when we were younger, I could make her come with just my mouth wrapped around her nipple. I suck her nipple into my mouth, and with each pull she grips my head and moans.

I rub my hard dick against her, listening to the sounds of her moans when I hit her clit through her shorts. Heidi rocks against me and starts making noises that always let me know she is ready to come.

I switch breasts and suck the other nipple into my mouth. The moment I nip the hardened tip, Heidi’s neck is arched back, and her mouth opens in a wordless cry. I shove my hand down her shorts and into her panties. Her cum covers my digits as I rub them up and down her pussy.

Once my fingers are covered, I pull them out of her bottoms, and while she watches me, I bring them to my lips, sucking them inside.