The Right Move (Windy City, #2)

by Liz Tomforde

“When did you start learning sign?” He peeks out of the bathroom, half the door frame covering his tall body. “Your mom texted me to check in on you a couple of days after I met your parents. I asked for her advice on the best way to start learning since she was an adult when she learned too. We’ve been video chatting once a week ever since, and they’ve both been teaching me.”

“Why are you learning sign?” I’m fairly certain I know the reason, but I want to hear him say it. “Because they’re your family and you’re mine, and the fact you even have to ask is mind-blowing to me. Learning to communicate with your family is the bare minimum, Ind.”

I guess it is, but I didn’t know the bar was on the floor until Ryan Shay walked into my life and quietly raised it to the fucking moon. “And because I love you and when I tell your dad that, I’ll be the one to say it.”

“Dear God,” I exhale, watching him taste me. “Who are you praying to?” “I’m not sure.” He moans at the taste of me. “Well, just be sure to use my real name when I make you scream.”

“That’s because you know I’ll give you every fucking thing you could ever ask for. You stopped worrying about your own needs a long time ago, Indy, but I want you to hear yourself ask and I want to watch you take.”

“First”—he pulls me by my wrists to sit up—“you’re going to take these off me.” He places my fingertips on the waistband of his boxer briefs. “Then you’re going to make some of your pretty noises that I love so much when you put my cock inside your pussy. I’m going to pull your hair. I’m going tell you how well you’re taking it, how pretty you look stretched around me. I’m going to fuck you on your back then on your knees. And when you come, it’ll be after I give you permission to.”

“Open these nice and wide for me, Ind.” Sitting up on his knees with his hands hooked under my thighs, he spreads me open. “Good girl. So fucking pretty on your back. Now put it in.”

“Now put my cock inside your pussy. I want to watch myself sink into you.”

“So fucking good,” he breathes, staring at our connection. “You take me so well, Ind. So tight, but so perfect.”

Next to my sister sits her best friend, the brown-eyed beauty who owns my entire heart. With my knuckle, I tilt her chin up and lean down to kiss her lips. “And I love you.”

“Hey!” Indy jumps from her seat, yelling at the referees as I jog past her. “What the hell was that? Are you blind? That’s an and-one! Why don’t you start blowing that whistle instead of blowing this game?” My girl is red-faced and angry, stomping around on her strappy red heels as she continues to berate the refs. Waiting for the other team to bring the ball up, I stand with my hands on my hips, watching her. Ethan and Dom join, sandwiching me on either side. “He’s an MVP nod, for fuck’s sake! Give the man some credit! What the hell are they paying you for?” she continues before adding a few more colorful curse words. “Goddamn. Are your knees sore from blowing that call?” An amused smile is fighting to break free, but I just shake my head as I watch her. “Your girl is kind of scary sometimes, Shay,” Dom notes from one side. Ethan laughs from the other. “I know,” I admit proudly. “And I fucking love it.”

“Ry, I’m heading to Michael’s.” Sitting on the couch with a book in his hands and his feet propped on the coffee table, Ryan stiffens before slowly lowering his book to his lap. “Say that again for me.” “I’m heading to Michael’s.” “And who the fuck is Michael?” Huh? As realization hits me, I try my hardest not to laugh. Jealous Ryan is hot, so I’ll let this play out before admitting that Michael’s is the craft store where I buy my embroidery thread to cross-stitch. “Don’t worry about it.” His brows rocket up towards his hairline. “Oh, don’t worry about it? Okay then.” “You don’t get to tell me what to do unless we're both naked.” He lifts his book again, refocusing his attention on the pages. “Have fun, but just know that you’re responsible for whatever happens to Michael tonight. In fact…” He eases into the couch as if he’s casually unaffected. “It’ll give me something to do later.” It’s then that I double over in laughter. “You’re insane.” Ryan peeks an eye over his book. “Michael’s is a craft store, you psychopath.”

“I was about to body slam Michael through the floor.”

“Talk about a fantasy come to life! The two of you all wrapped up around each other in my bed? Lord, have mercy!” I throw a pillow at the door. “Rio, get out!”

“Do you have food she can eat?” I can only imagine the horror on his face as his eyes roam the messy hockey frat house in front of him. “I’ll have some groceries sent over. She’s a vegetarian. And she likes her coffee over ice, so maybe put some in the fridge in the morning for her. Can you give this to her for me?”

“I know you’re mad at him but let me make this moment about me. Indy, that was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. Ryan freaking Shay was standing on my front porch asking to come inside and I said no. Stevie should truly step aside because if that doesn’t earn the title of best friend, I don’t know what does.”

Blue, I’m not great with words, so I’ll keep this short. I love you. I will love you as long as you'll allow me the privilege, and even longer after that. I have every intention to give you the life you want. I hope you’ll let me. You can even add this promise to the fridge when you get home. -Ryan

“You’re wrong, by the way,” he says. “Wrong about what?” “Me not having to make you coffee. I had Ryan Shay standing in my doorway telling me how his girlfriend likes her coffee and if you don’t think the look he gave me while he said it screamed ‘you better fucking make her coffee when she wakes up’ well then, babe, you’re wrong.”

“Speaking of Ryan Shay,” Rio begins again. “There’s a basketball player sleeping in my driveway who's worth more money than I’ll ever see in my lifetime.” “He came back?” “He never left. The guy slept in his car, and honestly, if I were into dudes that right there would have me folding.”

“How much is due today?” Tap. Tap. Tap. “Nothing. It’s fully covered.” “But you said—” “Not by insurance. Personal credit card paid for the whole thing months ago.”

“You don’t think I know that? I haven’t seen black and white since the second you walked into my apartment. Now it’s pink-painted toes, purple clothes, green plants, and those goddamn yellow curtains.” He shakes his head. “And so much fucking Blue. All I see is Blue.” Translation: All I see is you.

“What if I had changed my plans for you?”

“I know what I signed up for when I fell in love with you. From the beginning, you made it perfectly clear what you wanted your life to look like, and I’ve been taking steps to make that happen even when you weren’t aware. So no, Ind, you don’t have to beg me for a future because this is what I’ve wanted all along.”

“I bought us this house back in January.” Flipping to the last page of what I realize now is the deed, he points to the final line. “And if you don’t believe me, your name is right there.”

“Baby, you can’t get makeup and tears on the deed to the house.”

“You said you weren’t good with words, but I think words of affirmation might be your love language. Or acts of service. Or gift-giving. God, I don’t even know anymore.”

“Why did you pay for my fertility treatments? I didn’t want anyone paying for that.” “No, you didn’t want your parents paying for that. You said you felt uncomfortable for someone else paying for you to start a family. Well, it’s going to be my family too, so I don’t count.” “But that was back in December. Even then?” He knew even then? “Even then.”

“Daily update, Vee—we’re doing this forever, but first I need your help with something.”

“Mr. Shay, in my almost four decades of doing this job, you have been my favorite tenant. You’re kind, generous, and more down-to-earth than any twenty-seven-year-old who makes the kind of money you make should be. But son, in the almost five years you’ve lived here, the only time you’ve been able to step outside is to rush into a car or rush into the building across the street to see your sister. You’re not living here. You’re being watched.” He motions towards the crowd of fans waiting for me out front. “I will miss the heck out of you, but I hope you and Miss Ivers get out of here and find a place where you can have a moment of peace.”

“Dave.” Pausing, the two of us exhale a small laugh at my accidental use of Indy’s nickname for him. “David, if I do move, you and the family will have to come over to visit, yeah?”

“There’s this insane pressure in professional sports to be perfect at all times. To be a machine. I have thousands of people watching my every move to see if I’m worth my salary, and I can’t complain. I have the best job in the entire world, and I love our fans, but I am human. As much as I tried to convince myself I wasn’t, I am. I make mistakes. I have bad games. I miss important shots and I beat myself up over those failures more than any fan, coach, or GM would.”

“My first two years in the league were some of the hardest of my life. Ticket sales were through the roof and my jersey was selling like crazy, so what’s there to complain about, right?” I chuckle a humorless laugh. “Fuck, those years sucked. I was in a dark place. Being new in the league was a wakeup call that I was no longer a man, simply an asset, and I didn’t handle the realization well at all. I’ve been lying to y’all for years. I feel the pressure every fucking day, but this season, for the first time in a long time, the game has been fun again. “So, yes, I hope we win tonight, but the sun will still rise if we don’t. I’ll still have my family and friends and teammates if we don’t. And I hope I don’t get traded because I fucking love this team and I love this city, but that’s out of my control. So I’m going to go out there tonight and try my best while I have some fun with my guys.”

“I know that’s not really on brand for me to admit those things, but—” “Thank God you finally did.” He laughs. “That’s the Ryan Shay I’ve been wanting people to see all these years. That’s the Ryan Shay I scouted out of college. It’s good to see him again.”

“Are you trading me if we lose tonight?” I call out. He laughs so loudly it echoes off the empty hallway walls. “Hell no. I’ve got the best point guard in the league. Hell, maybe the best point guard the game has ever seen and he’s on my payroll. You think I’m giving that up? Not to mention, you’re kind of growing on me, kid.”

“She knew?” “Of course, she knew! Who the hell goes camping in the middle of winter in Chicago?” He laughs again. “She assumed if we kept getting you two together, maybe it’d happen for real, and it did. Shay, you may have been lying to convince me you were someone else, but you became that man regardless.”

“You could start by asking me to move in.” She tilts her head in contemplation. “I don’t know. We haven’t been dating all that long. You don’t think it’s too soon to be living together?”

“What do you say, Shay? Want to be my roomie? Hide away with me in this big, beautiful house?” “I think that sounds like the right move.”

“Fuck,” I exhale. “You got your team to the playoffs tonight.” “Is this my reward?” “One of them.” She kisses my throat. “You're going to have lots of rewards, Shay. I figured it is only fair that since you bought me a house, I should blow you in every room of it.” “Well, you are pretty on your knees, baby.”

“Why is this bed so fucking comfortable? Has it always been this comfortable?” She laughs. “Yes, it’s always been that comfortable. I’ll have to ask my roommate where he bought it and let you know.” Finding the hem of her dress, I lift it over her head. “I can’t believe I bought you a bed that was a hundred times better than mine and never slept in it.”

“Put it in, Blue. Let me watch you.”

“Fuck, Ind. You feel so fucking good.”

“You’re going to ruin me,” she whimpers. “I already have. This is mine.” I push into her. She moans. “Tell me.” I thrust again. “Tell me that every part of you is mine.” “Yes. I’m yours. I’ll always be yours.”

Slowly, I pull out and watch as my cum drips out and down her body. With a single finger, I collect it, pushing it back in, and loving the way it looks to have me inside of her. I’m fairly certain I growl or some shit. I don’t know. Some possessive caveman noise comes out of my throat at the sight in front of me. “Did you just develop a breeding kink, Shay?” Quickly nodding, I keep my eyes locked on her open legs. “I think so. Give me ten and let’s do that again.”

He signs again, but I’m not able to catch his entire question. I recognize the signs for win and game. But there’s one sign that Tim makes that I’ve never seen before. It looks similar to the sign for protect, but on his dominant hand, his index and middle fingers are crossed like the letter “R”. “Oh,” Indy squeaks out. She swallows thickly. “Yes, Ryan won his game.”

Tim turns to me, points, then signs the word protect again with his fingers creating the letter “R” at the same time. He points at me again. “I’m Ryan?” I ask, using his sign for my name. He nods, smiling.

“Is that my sign name?” I ask him to the best of my ability. “Yes.” Words stick in my throat, so I simply nod, sign, and mouth, “Thank you.” “No. Thank you.”

He doesn’t have to say anything else. I know what it means. Thank you for protecting my daughter, for loving my daughter. But later tonight, I’ll hopefully be the one saying thank you right after I ask for his blessing to marry his daughter. It was the first question I learned to sign, so you could say I’ve been practicing it for a while.

“Okay, what am I signing?” His head snaps to mine, green eyes sparkling with excitement. “For real?” “You let my girl crash at your place, you took care of her, and got her out here. It’s the least I can do.” Rio shrugs casually, attempting to play it cool as if he hasn’t been thinking about this moment since I first met him. “I don’t really have anything on me to sign.” “No? All right, well, I tried.” “Wait! I have two jerseys and a poster in the car. I also have an old Wheaties cereal box that you were on.” He quickly stands from his seat. “Do not put that pen away!”

“A great school district? Why have you looked at that, huh?” I shrug. “Ryan Shay, is Indy pregnant?” “Not yet.” Ethan stills. “Not yet?!” I pop my shoulders. “We’re trying.”

“And like how Uncle Rio won,” Rio cuts in, taking the chair on the other side of me. “Don’t forget about me, Tay.” “Uncle Rio didn’t score.”