Fourth Down and Inches

"Steve, that's not true. I have a little more self-control than that, thank you."

The barman then interrupted us by asking for our order then walked away. We stood there in silence for a minute or so.

"Okay, maybe you're right, just a little bit. I don't want to be with him though. If that makes sense."

"No, not really. If I don't want to sleep with a girl, I have no problem telling her that without fear I'll end up fucking her instead. It sounds like you only say you don't want him, when you still do."

Jess gave me an angry look, but before she could retort the barman came back with our drinks, so she kept quiet.

We carried the drinks back to the table and took our seats. I could tell Jess was still wanting to say something to me but couldn't now in front of everyone.

"Well, this is all cozy, isn't it? All three couples here together." Sheree stated.

"You meant two married couples, and two single friends, didn't you?" I replied.

"Oh come on, Steve. We know you guys left together last time we were here, and Jess was over your apartment last weekend. It's obvious you guys hooked back up, why are you two trying to hide it from us?" Diane added in.

I looked at Jess with a 'told you so' expression.

"You guys, please stop, okay. We're not back together, not yet. Just give us some space please and stop trying to play cupid." Jess responded for me.

Both Diane and Sheree had confused looks across their faces, they were sure that we were already together.

"Okay, not another word while you two figure it out, promise." Diane responded.

"Agreed, but if either of you want to talk about it." Sheree added before Jess looked at her with attitude.

"Okay, fine. I'll keep my mouth shut." Sheree finally added.

Thankfully Tim changed the conversation for us, and we continued on for the rest of the night without it being too awkward. At about 11pm I was feeling a little bit drunk and told everyone I was ready to get a cab home when Jess told the group she was going to leave too.

I looked at Jess, she was going to fuel their ideas if we left together again, but Jess didn't look like she cared right then, feeling the drinks like I was. We both said our goodbyes and made our way out of the bar, standing out the front waiting for a cab.

"You know they'll think we're going home together again, don't you?"

"Then why disappoint them?"

"Jess, you know why."

Jess then turned and stepped up to me planting a very passionate kiss on my lips. I couldn't help but respond, I had been desperately waiting to do this for the last two years. My arms instinctively wrapped around her body as our tongues met in each other's mouths. How I've missed this, missed her.

When we finally broke our kiss, I took a step back.

"You can't do this to me Jess. This isn't fair."

"What's not fair? I've loved you from the first time we met. I can't stand to be around you and to not be yours."

"Except for when your fuck buddy calls, then you can happily leave me like last time, right?"

Jess slapped me across the face. She recoiled holding her hands up to her face, shocked by her own action.

"I'm so sorry Steve. Oh God, I didn't mean to do that, I swear."

"No, it's alright. I shouldn't have said that."

I could see Jess beginning to cry, she was still holding her hands up to her face. I stepped over and hugged her. Just then a cab showed up and we both got in, I figured I would drop her off at her apartment first which was not that far from my new place. We didn't say anything on the way, but as we pulled up to her place Jess looked up at me.

"Steve, can you come inside please? Can we talk for a while?"

"What about? We've said everything that needs to be said."

"I just need you to be here with me, please?"

I looked into her eyes, I knew where this might end up if I were to go into her apartment. I'm not sure I could resist her right now.

"I don't think that's a good idea."

"I promise I'll keep my hands to myself, I just want you here with me tonight. Just as friends, okay?"

Fuck. Against my better judgement I relented.

"Okay, you promise not to seduce me though, right?"

"Agreed, unless you want me too."

"Come on, let's get inside."

I paid the cab driver and we went inside, Jess heading into her bedroom to get changed. She came back out wearing a long t-shirt, holding some clothes in her hands.

"Why don't you put these on."

Jess handed me the clothes, my initial thoughts were that they probably belonged to TJ, but I recognized the t-shirt and shorts she handed me.

"I can't believe you still have these. You haven't let anyone wear them in the meantime I hope?"

"Just me. I've worn the t-shirt quite a few times, it helped to remind me of you."

After getting changed I came back out to the lounge room to find jess making us drinks.

"No more alcohol for me thanks, I've had enough already."

"I'm making fruit smoothies, no alcohol."

"Okay, great."

We both sat down on the couch, with the TV on with some movie playing in the background. Jess was leaning in against my shoulder as we sat there, pretending to watch the TV and drinking our smoothies.

"Can I ask you something Steve?"

"Like you're not going to ask anyway."

"Before you left for Chicago, did you ever think about asking me to marry you?"

I looked at Jess, she was staring up into my eyes. That wasn't a question I was expecting.

"Well, honestly, yeah. Many times. Even after I moved to Chicago I thought about coming back to ask you so we could be there together."

"Steve, I was hoping so much that you would, every week that we were together after college I was hoping you would ask me. Can I ask why you didn't? Why you didn't ask me to marry you?"

"I honestly don't know why before I got offered the job in Chicago. I wanted to, I'm not sure why I didn't. Once I got offered the promotion, like I told you before, I didn't think it was fair to ask you to leave your family and friends. You liked your job as well, I just didn't want to ruin that for you."

"But that was my decision to make, did you ever think about that? You took that choice away from me."

"I know, I thought I was doing the right thing for you though."

"I know you thought that, but it wasn't your decision to make on your own."

I didn't know what to say to that. Yeah, I know I fucked it up, but I didn't mean to.

"Can you promise me something now then Steve? That from now on you don't make any decisions about us without me. No matter if you think you're doing what's right for me or not."

"Alright, I promise. You do realize that right now there is no 'us' though, right? We're not back together just because you kissed me and I'm sitting here with you now."

"Are you making a decision without me again?"

I laughed at her, she was just being cheeky now.

"We are back together Steve, you just don't know it yet." Jess added with a sly grin across her face.

"Is that right? Sounds like you just decided something without me."

Jess smiled and put her head back on my shoulder.

I woke up on the couch, I could hear Jess in the kitchen cooking something. I slowly got to my feet and stretched before walking over.

"Good morning, just making some breakfast. You want coffee?"

"Yeah, sure. Let me make it while you're cooking."

Her kitchen is not that big, so with both of us in there It was pretty tight. Having Jess that close to me, being able to smell her, I did my best to not wrap my arms around her even though I wanted to. God I wanted to.

I poured our coffee as Jess put the bacon with eggs onto our plates and we sat down at her small dining table. We kept looking up at each other as we silently ate our breakfast. Jess was smiling at me with that loving smile she always used to give me, the one that just melts me every time.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"What's the big smile for then?"

"I'm just happy right now."

"Yeah, me too."

We finished our breakfast and was washing the plates.

"Why don't you go have a shower, you can put your old clothes back on then."

"Why, do you want to keep these ones?"

"Yep. You get them back when we're living together."

"Alright."

I stood in the shower, enjoying the water rushing through my hair when I noticed that Jess was standing in the bathroom leaning against the basin.

"Really? You have to stand there watching me naked in the shower?"

"I always loved looking at you naked, I think you're in even better shape now than I remember. Would you like me to join you?"

"You promised not to seduce me, remember?"

"You're no fun. Alright, I'll leave you be then."

"Jess."

"Yeah?"

"I think my back needs washing, care to help?"

Jess lifted her t-shirt off to reveal her naked body. She stepped in the shower behind me grabbing the washcloth and started to soap up my back.

"Why don't you turn around so I can wash your front too."

When I turned around Jess started to soap me down, rubbing the cloth all over my body. I looked down at her, at her beautiful body with those gorgeous large breasts right in front of me. She looked up into my eyes, and I felt her hands start to fondle and stroke my cock.

"Fuck you're so beautiful, you're still the prettiest girl I've ever met."

"Then kiss me already."

I leaned down and our lips met, my hands began searching out every inch of her body. In no time I was hard in her hands, and Jess lifted one of her legs up for me to hold as she slid my cock inside of her pussy.

Jess wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled herself up, with me instinctively placing my hands under her ass to support her as she wrapped her legs around me and impaled herself down on my cock.

We kissed passionately again as I raised her hips up a little to let gravity drop her all the way down. Jess began to grind against me as well, she was moaning loudly now as we broke our kiss. Her eyes were looking directly into mine, I could see her passion and craving in the way she looked at me.

"Oh god Steve, I'm going to cum. Kiss me, kiss me now."

Our mouths met again, there was urgency in the way she kissed me. The whole moment felt so erotic, I was going to explode if we kept going like this.

Her moans were now becoming screams as she leaned her head back and climaxed hard. I couldn't hold back any longer and came hard inside of her, my legs felt like almost giving way which would have sent us crashing to the ground. Somehow, I was able to keep it together as I watched as Jess looked back into my eyes with a huge smile across her beautiful face.

"Oh my god, that was so intense. That felt so good Steve."

I lifted Jess off from my softening cock as she released her legs from around my waist. We stood there in each other's embrace, and began kissing again, slowly this time.

"So, what now?'

"That's up to you Jess."

"Yeah, I know. I'll deal with it I promise."

I left for home shortly after. Now I was hopeful everything with Jess would turn out alright.

On Sunday we all decided to meet downtown in Discovery Green for lunch, so I picked up Jess on the way. It wasn't quite as warm today as it had been, so it was beautiful weather to be outside at the park with friends. Again, Jess sat with me as we all talked and ate, though this time she would secretly rest her hand on my thigh, or even hold my hand briefly while no-one was watching. It may have just been a bit of teasing on her part, but she made me want to ravish her after every time she did it.

Diane and Sheree for their part, had relented on the matchmaking which made it easier to enjoy the day. At one point, Jess let her hand trail from my upper thigh to my groin, ever so lightly grazing across my cock. She was killing me, she knew exactly what she was doing to me.

The next time she did it, I could no longer hold back and turned to her and kissed her hard. I could hear the gasps come from Diane and Sheree as I kissed Jessica, after insisting to them that we were most definitely not together, now our mouths were locked together, making out like desperate teenagers.

When I broke the kiss, Jess with a huge smile gave the most devilish giggle as she knew she'd won.

"Damn, I hope you're not going to tell us you're not back together now Steve. Where did that come from?" Asked Diane.

"I guess I was building up to it."

Jess gave me another quick kiss on my lips then put her head down on my chest, arms around me. She was happy that she could now show her affection for me without trying to hide it.

"Well, it took a few weeks this time, but I'm so happy you two finally figured it out." Sheree added with a warm smile on her face. She then leaned over to Tim and planted her own kiss on his cheek.

As we left the park, Jess and I were holding hands as we made our way back to my car.

"You knew exactly what you were doing to me, and what I'd do."

"It was fun to see how long you could hold out though. You didn't last as long as I thought you would."

I shook my head at Jess, god I loved this woman.

When I dropped her home, she asked me in. This time there was no pretense about how much I wanted her. I happily accepted and spent the rest of the afternoon making love to her.

While Jess made us some dinner, I sat watching her, knowing that she still needed to deal with TJ before we could really be together again. She needed to do it soon though, I wasn't prepared to share her, not now, not ever.

This week has been good, better than good. Monday and Tuesday nights I stayed at Jessica's apartment, Wednesday night she stayed at mine. It finally felt like we were truly a couple again, in love and enjoying spending every second together that we could. On Thursday she texted me to let me know she was going to the Texans training facility for work, and that she would try to talk with TJ to finally end their 'relationship'.

It was a good feeling to know that hopefully after today, we could really be back together again with nothing or no-one getting in our way.

I hadn't made plans with Jessica for after work, but I was keen to find out how her 'talk' with TJ had gone. While they were never in a proper relationship, they had been in a sexual relationship for ten months now, and no doubt there were some strong feelings between them.

As I was leaving work at 5pm, I texted Jess to see if she wanted me to come over. By the time I got home I still had no reply from her, she must be working still. I went and showered, then played a game on my X-box to pass the time.

When I checked the time, it was after 8pm and I still hadn't heard back from Jess. Okay, now I was getting concerned. I had told her that the reason she'd been avoiding TJ the last week was because that maybe she still wanted him, that she might not be able to say no to his advances. Now fear crept inside me as I worried that I was right. That right now she could be fucking him, after we were together again.

I grabbed my car keys and wallet and jumped into my car. It was after 8:30pm by the time I arrived at Jessica's apartment, I could see her sitting on her apartment stairs.

As I approached her, I could see that she was crying. I sat down beside her, trying to gather my thoughts without wanting to accuse her of anything. For about a minute we sat there without speaking, Jess then looked up at me from her crying.

"I'm so sorry Steve. I don't know what to say."

"What happened?"

"I tried to speak with TJ at training, but there were too many people around. He said he would come over after training to talk."

"What time did he come over?"

"It was just after four."

"And when did he leave?"

"About twenty minutes ago."

I looked away from Jess, rubbing my hands through my hair. I can't believe this.

"So tell me, did you actually end it with him or not?"

"No, I'm not sure."

"Fuck!" I got up and started walking towards my car.

"Steve."

I stopped and turned to face her.

"No Jess, you're the one that's been pushing for us to be together again. I told you that you needed to end this with him first. But you didn't, and now you're still fucking him? Before Saturday I had no right to be jealous or angry. But now, well now we're no longer together again either. So, you can go fuck him all you want!"

With that I got into my car and drove away. This was not such a good week after all.

As I was wrapping up work on the Friday afternoon, I checked my phone. I had six texts and two missed calls from Jessica. I had placed my phone on silent after her first text this morning. I was in no mood to hear what she had to say, even if it was to again say sorry.

I didn't go for a beer with Darius and Jack, I didn't go anywhere but home. Right now, I didn't want to talk with anyone.

On Saturday I decided to go over to my parent's place to spend some time with them. Neither my mom nor dad knew that I had gotten back together with Jess last weekend, so I didn't need to explain that we were no longer together now.

When I got to my parent's place around 10am, I was surprised to see my older brother Matt there with his wife Natasha and their two kids. They live in Florida, not far from Orlando, so I was not expecting to see them.

"I was about to call you Steve, look who's here." My mom said as I approached the front verandah.

"Hi Mom, hey Matt." As Matt gave me a big bear hug, then I hugged Mom and Dad as well.

"Good to see you Steve, I thought you were still in Chicago."

"I got back a month ago, damn it's good to see you. How's Tasha and the kids?"

"They'll be back out in a minute, Tasha's just getting them changed. Were all heading to the pool, why don't you come along with mom and dad. We're going to have lunch there too."

"Yeah, that sounds good."

We arrived at the Bellaire pool and got a table, the kids were in the pool within seconds. Mom and Dad went and sat at the side of the pool with their legs in the water to watch them, with Natasha joining the kids in the water. That left me and Matt sitting at the table.

"So, how's work, did you get promoted when you got back home?"

"Yeah, I did. Work's been good, I got a good crew so that makes it a lot easier. How about you, still doing the house building?"

"Yeah, I'm the foreman now. More money but more headaches too."

"How long are you in Houston for?"

"Only a few days to see you guys, then we're off to San Antonio before we start heading back home."

"How's Tasha been doing looking after the kids? Is she back at work yet or staying home?"

"She's been great, she's still at home. I've been doing long hours for the last few months and Tasha's been great covering for me. So, how about Jessica, are you two back together now you're home?"

"We were, but not anymore."

"What? Has something happened?"

"Yeah, it's complicated. But the end is that we're not getting back together."

"Come on Steve, this is the girl you've been in love with since you were teenagers. What's so complicated?"

"Well, she was already seeing someone when I got home. She said she would end it with him, meanwhile she was pushing the whole time to get back with me. So, we got back together last Saturday, then I found out on Thursday she was still fucking the other guy."

"Ahh sorry. How long has she been seeing the other guy for?"

"About ten months."

"And you expected her to ditch him for you straight away?"

"No, I told her we wouldn't get back together while she was still with him. She's the one that didn't want to wait."

"So, I'm confused, was she cheating on him with you, or cheating on you with him?"

"They were never in a normal relationship according to Jess. She works with the guy."

"So, ten months of hook-ups?"

"Yeah."

"Where does she work now? I thought she went to college to be a physio?"

"Yeah, she is. She works for a medical center that specializes in sports injuries. They do work for the Houston Texans. The guy she's been seeing is one of the players she's physio for."