Slam Dunk: Black & White Collection (7 page)

“All right,” Jamie said, walking out from the kitchen with three beers in his hands. “Hunter and Donovan are here. Now it’s a party.”

Jamie handed each of them a drink.

Trey burst into loud laughter. “What the fuck are you wearing, man?”

Jamie’s grin grew. “You like my outfit?” His best friend was sporting green polyester pants that couldn’t be called anything other than high waters and a woman’s gaudy Christmas sweater.

Grace shook her head. “The sweater is an old one of mine. I found it in the attic the other day. Nearly died when Jamie said he wanted to wear it.”

“And the pants?” Trey asked, gesturing at the three-decades-out-of-style polyesters.

Jamie shrugged. “Got them at a consignment shop a couple years ago. Don’t you remember? They were part of my Halloween costume.”

Trey nodded. “That’s right. You were a seventies porn star that year. Took you nearly a month to grow out that Fu Manchu as I recall.”

Until that point, Ellie had managed to contain her giggles. Once Trey mentioned the mustache, she gave up the battle. “Oh my God. I would have loved to see that.”

Grace took a quick drink of Jamie’s beer. “I think I have pictures of it somewhere. I’ll dig them out.”

“You two are looking pretty snazzy yourself,” Jamie joked, pointing to Ellie and Trey’s matching Rudolph sweatshirts and red and black checked pants.

“Ellie picked them up for us at Walmart. Can you believe this whole get-up cost less than ten bucks?” Trey joked.

Grace giggled before walking away. “Yeah. I think I can,” she said over her shoulder.

Jamie gestured toward the kitchen. “There’s a shitload of food on the counter. Beer’s in a big tub out on the back porch. God knows it’s cold enough out there to keep it chilled. We pushed the living room furniture against the walls to make a dance floor. Music’s gonna start soon. I’m just letting everybody lay a base first.”

Trey nodded in understanding.

“Lay a base?” Ellie asked.

Trey wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close.

“He means he’s letting them get tipsy before he starts all the crazy dancing and singing.”

“Ah, gotcha. The Cougar Club playlist.”

Ellie had teased them more than once about the way their gang had standard songs they played every time they got together.

Jamie laughed. “Maybe we should release an album.”

Trey rolled his eyes. “God. Let’s spare the rest of humanity from that.”

Jamie tapped his beer bottle against Trey’s and raised his eyebrows. “I’m going to go turn down the heat. It’s already too warm in here and I have a feeling once we start dancing, it’ll only get hotter.”

Trey nodded and watched his friend walk away. He noticed more than a few of their colleagues taking in his and Ellie’s matching outfits. Lucas was giving him a shit-eating grin from across the room and Trey knew his friend was going to start pressing for details. Trey wished there were deets to share.

Jamie dimmed the lights and walked over to fiddle with his iPod. Trey grinned as he watched his friend. Jamie was the ultimate party host. He knew how to entertain and Trey hadn’t spent too many nights with the man that hadn’t been some of the most fun evenings of his life. The guy knew how to have a good time.

“You hungry?” Trey asked.

Ellie shrugged. “I could eat. I skipped dinner because Grace warned me she was making a ton of food.”

Trey took her hand and led her to the kitchen. They were just about to enter the room when Grace stopped them.

“Wait,” Grace said. “Look up.”

Trey glanced above his head and spotted the mistletoe. “You’re sabotaging your guests. Luring them in here for food.”

Grace laughed. “Jamie’s idea. However, regardless of our underhanded tactics, tradition overrules in this case.” She gave them a wicked grin before turning to use the second doorway in the kitchen—also adorned with mistletoe—to take a tray of food to the living room.

Ellie looked at the mistletoe before smiling at him. “Guess we wouldn’t want to break a time-honored custom.”

Trey grasped her waist, deciding that was all the invitation he needed. “I don’t want that guilt on my head.” He bent down and kissed her. If Ellie was expecting a quick, friendly buss, she’d be disappointed. He’d been lusting after her lips since the night she’d given him the greatest blowjob of his life. He wasn’t about to waste this opportunity.

Ellie raised her arms and wrapped them around his neck. She welcomed his long kiss, returning it with a vengeance. When they broke apart, they continued to hold each other for a long time as he looked into her eyes.

“I bought you a Christmas present.” He’d meant to give it to her at school today, but something had held him back.

“You did?” She frowned. “Damn. I suck. I didn’t get you anything except a lousy card.”

Trey chuckled. “I didn’t expect you to buy anything for me. And don’t worry. It’s just something little. Thought you might like it.”

She smiled. “Where is it?”

She looked like a kid waiting for Santa to arrive.

“Back at my house. I thought we’d swing by and pick it up before I took you home.”

She released him and nodded, her eyes sparkling. “Sounds like an excuse to lure me into your lair and have your wicked way with me.”

He reached up to cup her cheek. “Would you mind if that were true?”

Trey expected her to pull away, to offer her same reasons for rejecting his suit.

Instead, she tilted her head and looked at him. “No. I wouldn’t mind at all.”

His cock went rock hard in an instant. “Fuck. We’re in public, Ellie,” he muttered adjusting his pants as she laughed.

She glanced around, confirming they were alone in the kitchen, and then she discreetly ran her hand along his rigid length. “Maybe I do have a present for you after all.”

He closed his eyes, suddenly lightheaded. “So,” he joked, “it’s been a great party. You ready to leave?”

She laughed. “Jamie would kill you.”

“I don’t want to run the risk you’ll change your mind.”

She looked at him, her face suddenly serious. “I’m not going to change my mind. I want to be with you, Trey.”

He closed his eyes and pressed his forehead to hers. “God, you have no idea how much I want the same thing.”

She squeezed his cock playfully once more. “I don’t know. I think I have a pretty good idea.”

She continued to giggle as she loaded up a plate of food and walked away, returning to the crowd of friends in the living room. Trey took several deep breaths and willed his cock to go back to sleep. It was going to be a long night.

Ellie followed Trey up the porch to his front door. She tried to think of one reason why she shouldn’t be here, but for once, her body and mind were in agreement. She wanted to be with Trey. Wanted to spend the night with him.

It was just sex, she told herself. Just desire driving her actions. Well, that and the holidays. She was feeling a bit lonely and sorry for herself. Tonight was a gift she would give herself and tomorrow she’d return to reality. Besides, maybe if she scratched this Trey-itch, it would relieve some of the constant arousal she felt in his presence.

They walked in and she smiled when Trey plugged in the lights on his tiny tree. She’d helped him decorate it a few days ago when she discovered he didn’t intend to put one up. She’d called him Scrooge and showed up armed with a tiny tree she’d purchased from a roadside tree farm. They’d gone to Walmart to buy the lights, ornaments and their matching tacky outfits. It had been a fun evening. Then again, most evenings with Trey were fun.

“Here,” he said, grabbing a brightly wrapped box from beneath the tree and handing it to her.

“You really shouldn’t have done this,” she repeated, feeling guilty about not having anything to offer him in return.

“Hush. It’s nothing. Open it.”

She untied the ribbon, then ripped into the wrapping paper. She took the lid off the box and pulled back the tissue paper. Inside were two framed pictures. One was of her and Trey on the sidelines, surrounded by the team during a time-out. She glanced at Trey, wondering where he’d gotten it.

He responded to her unasked question. “I asked Jamie to snap a couple shots during that game. He took it from the stands. I thought it was a good picture of you.”

She smiled, tears springing to her eyes. The photograph reflected the joy in her face as she was in the midst of doing something she loved with Trey by her side. “It’s perfect.”

Looking back into the box, she uncovered the other picture and laughed. It was a shot of the Cougar Club at happy hour. She recalled Grace asking the waitress to snap the shot a week ago when they’d all gone out to celebrate the basketball team’s big win against Harper’s Ridge. She and Trey stood in the middle, with their arms around each other’s shoulders. They were flanked by Cheryl, Lucas, Grace, and Jamie—all six of them grinning widely. It had been a great night.

She looked at the gift, knowing it was one of the nicest she’d ever received. “I love them.”

Trey shrugged, obviously pleased by how much she liked his present. “I thought you might like some pictures for your house. Start your collection over since you lost your childhood photos in that fire.”

She struggled to swallow over the lump in her throat. He was helping her create new memories to replace the ones she’d lost. It was a beautiful gesture. “Thank you,” she whispered.

Trey walked over and took the box from her. Placing it back under the tree, he returned and wrapped her in his big, strong embrace. She returned the hug, her arms tight around his waist. Trey placed a soft kiss on the top of her head. They stood there for several seconds, soaking up the warmth and comfort of merely being together.

“Ellie. There’s something I should say before we go upstairs.” He paused and then amended his words. “If we go upstairs.”

She stepped back to look at him. “If?”

“I know you. And I know what you’re thinking, but you need to understand my perspective. You aren’t a one-night stand. You’ll never be that to me. If we go to my bedroom now, you need to be aware of my expectations. I don’t want to be just your friend anymore.”

She expected his words to trigger a panic button inside her, but they didn’t. She’d suspected his feelings, which was why she’d avoided giving into the pull of sleeping with Trey after the Blackjack game. “I know what you want.”

She’d always known. Trey had never hidden his feelings. Instead he’d repressed them, held them back in order to respect her wishes. She’d walked into his house, promising herself one night. Just sex. She should have known Trey wouldn’t let her get away with that lie.

His face was serious and Ellie thought she detected the slightest trace of fear.

“If you don’t want that, I should take you home now.”

Was he afraid she’d continue to reject him?

“I don’t want to go home.” She was proud of the strength in her words, the assuredness in her tone. There was nowhere on earth she’d rather be tonight than here with him. She’d been a fool to consider for an instant that one night with him would be enough. Surely she could maintain a friends-with-benefits relationship with Trey. They’d simply indulge in occasional sex—nothing serious or too heavy.

Hell, it wouldn’t be much different than what they were doing now except for the added benefit of sex. They spent lots of time together, watching movies, picking up quick dinners and she knew there wasn’t another woman he was interested in at the moment. She could handle casual, no-strings-attached dating. After all, the trouble with Joel had surfaced after they’d moved in together, taken things to a higher level. She’d be fine as long as she kept things easy with Trey.

He gave her a crooked grin and a suspicious glance. “Maybe we should test this.”

She smiled. “How?”

“What are you doing Christmas day?”

She crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her toe playfully. “Hmm. Let’s see. I’m spending the day at my parents’ house. My brother and his family are up from North Carolina and we’re all going to open presents in the morning and then travel to my aunt’s big farmhouse for Christmas dinner. What are you doing for the holidays?” She knew he was close to his family as well, though she definitely hoped he’d say nothing. She’d love for her parents to meet him.

“Same thing as you,” he admitted, somewhat reluctantly. “The family routine.”

“Nuts.”

He agreed. “What about the day after Christmas?”

She shrugged. “I don’t have any plans.”

“Good. I’ll pick you up and take you ice-skating. Then we can come back here for hot chocolate.”

His words were spoken lightly, but she could see a glimmer of distrust in his gaze. There was a part of him that thought she’d say no. She felt guilty for holding him at arm’s length for so long.

She took a step closer to him, moving until they were a hairsbreadth apart. “That sounds like fun. But tell me—” She reached down and ran her hand along his erection. Trey sucked in a gasp of air at her unexpected touch. “Do you mean we’ll literally have hot chocolate? Or is that code for something else?” She pressed harder against his rigid cock.

He chuckled. “Oh, it’s code. Definitely code.”

“Good,” she said, standing on tiptoe to place a soft kiss on his jaw. “Can I be the whipped cream on top?”

She was still rubbing his cock and it twitched at her request. “Get upstairs,” he commanded. “Now.”

Ellie grinned. Apparently Trey had hit his breaking point. A tremor of arousal snaked through her body. So had she. “Race you.” She turned and took off up the stairs, Trey hot on her heels.

She was nearly to the bed when Trey picked her up, twisting in mid-stride and taking her down on the mattress with him. “Tie,” he proclaimed.

“You cheated.”

He laughed, tickling her. “I don’t remember setting any rules.”

She struggled, laughing beneath him, wondering if she’d ever been able to be herself with anyone before Trey. Everything with him felt natural and true. After a few minutes of playful wrestling, Trey called a truce.

He stood beside the bed and reached out to help her up as well. When he bent forward to kiss her, it was clear the games were over and the night was about to get serious. His deep, warm kiss sent tingles of desire along her spine.