Kellie and Brad Ch. 11

"Thanks, baby," Kellie whispered. She kissed Brad deeply and he kissed back in return.

"I love you, Bradley Galenchuk."

"I love you, Kellie Galenchuk."

Kellie closed her eyes as if preparing to settle into a good sleep, but Brad wasn't ready to let her do so. Naughty thoughts were running through his mind, and he wanted nothing more than to put those thoughts into action.

He let his hands travel down the gentle curves of her hips, and with a throaty growl he kissed the back of her neck.

"Oooh," Kellie gasped. "What are you doing back there, loverboy?"

"I was just thinking," he whispered in his most seductive voice, "I've never made love to an Olympic athlete before. I believe it's time I fixed that."

She playfully slapped his arm and giggled. "Didn't you listen to a word I said earlier?!" she asked while feigning outrage. "I haven't made it yet, you dope!"

"Pfft," he scoffed. "Ain't nothin' but details, baby!"

Brad's hand wandered further across Kellie's body and down underneath her sleep shorts, where he found her soft, petal-like folds moistened with her natural dew. With that gentle, sexual touch, a soft moan escaped her lips. That sound gave Brad a hungry grin. He now knew for sure he was going to get what he was after.

"Besides," he breathed in her ear, "you certainly feel ready for a little Olympic-style lovin'!"

Kellie laughed. "What the hell does that even mean?!"

As Brad fumbled for an answer, without warning Kellie rolled over and straddled him. She ground her aroused mound against his steely erection, and she licked her lips when she heard him groan.

"Mmmm," she purred, "I know this much, at least. It definitely feels like you're carrying an Olympic-sized torch for me."

Brad and Kellie grinned at each other and kissed passionately before quickly disrobing. Olympic-themed bedroom talk was a first for them, to be sure, and they shared a few laughs the next night at how they had been carried away by something so cheesy. But for now, it was working for them, so they rolled with it.

Kellie climbed back on top of Brad. She groaned as she sank herself on his engorged cock and felt his hands grip her firm ass. "You're not going to cum faster, are you?" she teased.

"Not me," Brad said between pleasurable moans. "Baby, I'm going to take you higher."

"Oh yes!" she squealed. "I knew you would because you're my stronger man!"

Brad's mind temporarily blanked when it came to thinking of more Olympic-flavoured sexy talk, so he decided to show Kellie just how much "stronger" he was. He tightened his hold on her hips and ass and pummelled her pussy. She bent over to bury his face in his shoulder in an attempt to muffle her screams of ecstasy; the last thing she wanted now was one of her kids interrupting them and asking some difficult questions.

"Yes, Brad!" she spoke into his chest, and she squeezed her arms around him harder and dug her nails in his back. "Yes! Just like that! Fuck me!"

The sound of her voice vibrated through his body and made his cock tingle even more. He gleefully smacked her ass with both hands and revelled in the sound of her surprised yelp.

"That's right, baby!" he said. "Take it! Oh, your tight little pussy really wants my big cock, doesn't it?!"

"Yes!" she replied. "She wants him so bad! Give it to me, you stud! Harder!"

Brad fulfilled her request. He pounded Kellie's tight, wet channel relentlessly until she stiffened on top of him. She buried her face in Brad's shoulder to muffle her scream as an intense and satisfying orgasm rolled through her. The sound and feel of her in that moment was too much for him to resist. He groaned and came hard inside her.

Through heavy breaths and light kisses they slowly came down from their peak. The look of love in both their eyes was unmistakeable.

"What do you think, baby?" Brad asked. "Does our fantastic performance merit a ten from the Canadian judge?"

Kellie snuggled her warm body into Brad, ensuring he felt her hard nipples press into him, and kissed him on the cheek. "It's definitely a gold-medal winning performance!" she said happily.

They kissed again and settled in for the night. Kellie soon went to sleep with images of standing on the top step of the podium, gold medal around her neck, embracing her friends and teammates as the sounds of 'O Canada' echoed through the rink, vivid in her brain.

********

It was a few weeks later, on a chilly, late October Friday morning, when Brad received a piece of bad news at work.

His key weeknight maintenance supervisor gave his notice of resignation immediately, not giving even the minimum of courtesy of two weeks' notice. It was a move that Brad did not see coming. He made plans to find a replacement as soon as possible, but that would still take time. Until then he needed someone to step up and "take one for the team" by temporarily filling the role.

As he was thinking about who to ask first, he was interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Hey boss," Anita said.

Brad rolled his eyes. "You don't have to call me boss, you know."

"I know. I like doing it, though, because it messes with your head."

He laughed at her quick-witted retort.

Brad was pleased that Anita was starting to relax and grow into her role. She had built up three years' worth of seniority, and her intelligence and work ethic made her one of his most trusted employees. Only recently had she recognized that status and thus carried herself with the appropriate confidence. He thought it looked good on her.

"So what's on your mind, Anita?" he asked.

"I heard Murdoch quit," she answered. "Kind of dropped it on you without warning, didn't he?"

"Yeah, I wasn't thrilled when he gave me the news, believe me. I'll be working on finding a full-time replacement soon, but I need someone to fill that spot in the meantime."

"I'll do it."

Brad winced. He did not want her to be the one to make the sacrifice. He knew the difficulties she faced as a single mother, both those all single mothers go through as well as those particular to her situation. There were a couple of times that Anita had confided in him her struggle to help Johnathan adjust in school after his best friend moved away. The situation was improving, but it was doing so very slowly, and worrying about him was taking a toll on her.

"Thanks for the offer," he told her, "but I should probably ask someone else instead."

Anita made sure no one else was within earshot, and then closed Brad's office door for good measure. "Brad, you know just as well as I do that I'm none of the other guys are up to the job. The young guys are too inexperienced and will mess something up if they're not supervised, while the rest will make up some BS excuse and leave you hanging."

"You make a good point, I have to admit. But what about Johnathan? If getting someone reliable to watch your son is going to be an issue, how will you be able to focus on what needs doing?"

"Already taken care of. I called my mother before coming here. She's agreed to help take care of Johnny after school and put him to bed at night. Who could be more reliable than Mom?"

Brad nodded. Anita was as sharp as ever. "Well, since you put it that way, I guess I can't say no, can I?"

"No, you can't. You're stuck with me."

They shared a laugh before Brad turned serious. "Thank you, Anita. I want you to know, I appreciate you making the sacrifice. I just hope it won't be too much of a strain on you and your son."

"It will be hard on me and Johnny, I won't lie. But we'll make it work. And I want to help you out. You've supported me so much these past three years that I feel I owe you one, and what better time than now since you're in such a pinch. I have to be honest, though, I really hope it won't last long."

Brad promised the inconvenience would be as minimal as possible. He quickly went over the work hours for the evening job, but didn't want to bog her down with too much detail, especially since her shift was over.

Before she could say or ask anything else, he told her, "Go home, Anita, and enjoy your weekend. I'll see you Monday afternoon."

With a smile and a handshake, Anita did just that. Brad breathed a sigh of relief. He wondered what he would do without her.

He shook his head after that thought sank in, realizing both how unlikely that would have seemed years ago, and how upset Kellie would be if she knew what he was thinking about Anita, even though it was completely innocent.

*******

"Jen?" Amber posed a question to her sister. "Where's Kellie?"

Jennifer looked at Heather, seeking confirmation. "Isn't this the night she and Brad have parent-teacher interviews at her kids' school?"

"Yeah, I think it is," Heather chimed in. "I think she told us the other day to treat tonight as one of our extra on-ice nights for this month."

"Oh, right!" Amber snapped her fingers as she finally remembered her skip telling her and the others about her obligation.

Part of the initial training plan settled on by the team called for a number of extra on-ice training nights per month during the curling season for Amber, Heather and Jennifer. The rationale for this was more time for these three to practice and perfect their sweeping technique.

Kellie's position as skip meant sweeping was not a task required of her other than briefly for rocks in the rings, except for unusual circumstances. But for the others, effective sweeping was a must. And as important as the right technique was, teams seeking to reach championship level had to go beyond just good technique. Ensuring proper physical fitness, so one could sweep just as effectively in the last end as the first, and the ability to correctly judge the path of a rock, so to know when to sweep, and how hard, were critical. Indeed, at the elite level these things often spelled the difference between winning and losing.

Having already completed their warm-ups, the three women took to the ice. Each took turns throwing a couple of rocks and the other two would sweep. They followed this process for about twenty minutes before taking a break.

"How do you think we're doing so far?" Amber asked Jennifer.

"Very well," Jennifer replied. "Though there is one thing I've noticed in particular that you two can still improve on."

"OK, no problem. What is it? What are you seeing out there?"

"You and Heather are still a little awkward when you change brushing positions. When Kellie or I call a switch on the brushing, you both need to be seamless in those transitions. It's not like you're terrible at it. You're good, but we need better than good. You need to keep practicing and working on it until you can get it down pat 100% of the time, and then in crucial game situations it's automatic."

"Good catch, Jen. We can do that. Heather, let's work on that right... uh, Heather?"

Heather had stepped away from Amber and Jennifer, completely oblivious to their conversation. She was blankly staring ahead of her, with a troubled look on her face.

"Heather? What's wrong?" Jennifer asked with great concern. But Heather did not respond. Instead, she walked away from them, slowly at first, then picking up speed, and all the while continuing to gaze off into the distance.

Jennifer and Amber were puzzled, until they looked in the same direction at which Heather was looking and moving.

Then, they tried to catch up to her.

*******

She didn't usually find herself reliving her past.

Since she started the job at the curling club, Anita was always too busy to waste her time thinking about her history. When she was at work, she busied herself with the responsibilities Brad assigned to her, and she performed them very well, motivated by her continued desire to prove to everyone she deserved her job on merit. At home, of course, she had to care for and raise Johnathan.

But tonight, working at these different hours because no one else could, with nothing immediately pressing and no one to really supervise her, Anita spent the last few minutes looking at the Blue Granite Curling Club's trophy and memorabilia display.

Her many achievements had kept a prominent place in the cabinet, even though all of them were now several years old. That they were still highlighted so much was no great surprise, considering her mother essentially ran the club, in fact if not in title, doing what she could to continue the tradition her father, grandfather and great-grandfather carried out before her.

Anita recalled looking at this display, and her reactions to what she saw, many times in the past. She would either mentally gloat at her success, or feel cheated somehow that she hadn't won more trophies, taken home more medals, gained more fame and notoriety.

Now? It felt like these things weren't hers, that they were never hers. Like they had been won by a different person entirely.

And it was sort of true, at least in a metaphorical sense. Anita felt like she had lived two different lifetimes since her curling glory days.

She hadn't spent this much time seriously contemplating her past and present in a very long while. The intense reflections left her conflicted. On the one hand, she missed being able to immerse herself in the world of competitive curling. Matching wits with another team, measuring and playing with angles as she circled a house full of rocks, encountering puzzles she never saw before and finding ways to solve them. These were all things she had greatly enjoyed.

And she was GOOD at curling. REALLY good.

On the other hand, in those days of her greatest athletic accomplishments, Anita also knew she was a total and complete bitch. That was the absolute truth, and there was no way to sugar-coat it.

She had long since accepted that fact for what it was. Her competitiveness and hunger to win consumed her, turning her into a thoroughly unpleasant person. She made many mistakes, angering many people along the way. The worst of those mistakes almost cost her everything.

She truly went through hell and back.

In the end, with a great deal of help, she managed to save herself. With the presence of Johnathan, her precious son, and the support of her mother and sister, she survived and became a much better person.

Anita was prouder of that accomplishment than any curling trophy or medal.

All this thinking brought up another question in Anita's mind. Could she ever find a way, one day, to combine these two worlds? Could she ever rediscover her curling talent, play competitively and reach an elite level again, all without falling into her old, bad habits?

Anita's contemplation was interrupted by a feeling of being watched. She turned her head to see who was observing her... and she swallowed and steeled herself for a confrontation.

One for which she was not ready.

*******

The feeling blindsided her, hitting her like a rogue wave crashing into shore.

One minute, Heather was taking a break from practice, taking a drink of water, listening to Amber and Jennifer discuss tonight's efforts and thinking of something worthwhile to add to the conversation.

Then she saw Anita.

Heather had convinced herself she had moved on from the negativity of her relationship with her former skip, that all the emotional wounds from Anita's insults and harassment were healed. And since the two kept different schedules and never happened to run into each other, Heather never had to challenge those assumptions. She could safely continue to fool herself into believing she was fine.

The truth, as she was just now discovering, was that she had simply buried these things away in a dark corner of her mind and avoided properly dealing with them.

The sight of Anita brought all of those hurtful memories flooding to the surface. Without fully realizing what she was doing, she left Amber and Jennifer behind and marched towards Anita.

Despite her better judgement, Heather couldn't stop the slight thrill that surged through her when she saw Anita turn and nervously swallow as she noticed her coming. It didn't help her figure out what she would say once she got there, but at least she knew she'd start with the upper hand.

*******

"What do you think Heather's going to do?" a worried Amber asked Jennifer. She strode next to her sister, trying to keep up with her.

"I'm not sure," an equally worried Jennifer replied, "but I don't like how this looks." She further increased her pace in an attempt to catch up to her life partner and stop her from saying or doing something she might regret later.

She wasn't fast enough.

"Reliving past glories, are we?" Heather asked Anita, bitterly.

Anita started to answer but was distracted by Jennifer and Amber moving in behind Heather. She didn't hear what they had said earlier so she didn't know whether they would try to pull Heather away or come piling on to make it a three-on-one ambush. Whatever the case, Anita was reluctant to spend the energy necessary to fight them. Despite the sick feeling in her stomach, she resolved to take whatever they dished her way, just as she had with all the other enemies she ran into since her return.

"You know what I think of when I see those trophies?" Heather continued, not willing to wait for Anita to speak. "I think about all your immature and abusive behaviour. I think of how instead of encouraging and helping your teammates, the ones who helped you win all that stuff, you beat us down for every mistake we made. I think about how you took all the credit when we won but stuck us with all the blame when we lost!"

Heather paused to wipe tears from her eyes. The others either couldn't speak, or didn't dare.

Anita didn't know what to say. She had never seen Heather this angry before. She knew her former teammate had reason to be upset... hell, she had given her plenty of ammunition in that regard. The raw display of emotion, however, still took her aback.

Meanwhile, Jennifer and Amber watched events unfold before them like witnesses to a gruesome car crash. They wanted to stop Heather, for her own sake if nothing else, but felt helpless to do so. She seemed a force that could not be stopped, a will that would not be denied.

"That's not all I think about, though!" Heather yelled, her voice rising in emotion and intensity. "Oh hell no!! I also think about your stunning lack of morals, to the point that you were convinced stealing and fucking your main rival's fiancé was A-OK in your books! It was so funny when you realized all that time and effort you invested in your scheme was wasted, because your mind was so clouded by your sluttishness that you couldn't possibly conceive that Kellie and Brad were such good and decent people and were way too much in love for you to drag them down to your level! I didn't even care when you learned about the small part I played to ensure your dirty fucking plan failed completely... hell, when you slapped me and told me to fuck off it was one of the best things that ever happened to me!

"But you couldn't leave well enough alone, could you? No, you still thought you had the right to try and permanently scar me and beat me down with your words!"

Heather then got right up in Anita's face to challenge her. "Do you remember what you called me before the nationals that year, in front of my teammates and friends?! Do you?!"

"I... um... I don't...," Anita stumbled.

"You called me a lezzie slut!" Heather's voice hitched and sobbed.

Anita winced. She felt even more nauseous than before. She didn't remember saying that to Heather, had no recollection of it whatsoever. She had no doubt that Heather was telling the truth, based on her reaction. And, sadly, it sounded like something Anita would have said back then.

Heather was faintly aware that Anita was not reacting how she thought she would to her verbal attack. Not even close, in fact. She didn't know what to do; she had gotten herself too worked up and into too much of a prideful state to back down gracefully.