Sure Bet (Out of Left Field #1)

24. Brooke

Chapter 24

Brooke

“ H appy fucking birthday. Je-sus .” Liam nearly levitated off the bed when he woke to find my mouth stretched around him this morning.

He traced a finger along my lips and smiled tenderly. “You look so good like this.” He shook his head against the pillow and groaned. “Fuck. So good.”

Pride bloomed in my chest, the ultimate sense of power as I pleasured him. He liked it sloppy and messy, a combination of my hands and mouth working him in tandem. Knowing what turned him on was great, but knowing what made his toes curl and his entire body short-circuit was a level of accomplishment that got my blood hot.

Him, too, judging by the ragged exhales.

I popped off, pumping his length from root to tip. “I think that means someone is due a spanking, no?”

“Whatever the fuck you want, just— fuuuuuuck ,” he panted and bucked when I licked and sucked his crown, taking him deeper.

His hands tangled in my hair, and he guided me along his thick shaft, holding me down when I neared the base. I choked around him, the burn in my throat and the sting of tears in my eyes earning an approving growl before he eased up and told me to take a breath.

“You suck me so well. Perfect, like that.” His grip shifted, caressing my hair as he rubbed my shoulder with his other hand. “I love how you make me feel.” His palm slid to cup my neck and urged me back down. “Deep breath, and finish what you started.”

He fucked my face, slack-jawed and gasping, and dropped his head back with a low groan before coming down my throat a moment later.

But Liam was an equitable partner, and though breathless from his release, he seated me on his face like the queen he proclaimed me to be and ate me until my body spasmed and I slumped over, comatose.

Satisfied with his near-death performance, he tucked me by his side and kissed my temple. “I’ve literally, not ever, not once in my fucking life, started a day so good.”

My fingers brushed through his chest hair. “Not even when your mom woke you up with donuts and told you and Shana to pack because she was taking you to Disneyland, and your flight left in three hours?”

“Nope. Not even close.”

I propped on my elbow and grinned. “And nobody loves Space Mountain like you.”

“I know, but Christ, Brooke. You had me going off like a fucking rocket.” His body tensed, and he swallowed hard. “You make my heart pound just as fast, too. Make me light-headed and dizzy. Sometimes I worry I’m going to throw up because you make me as nervous, but nothing beats it.”

“Me too,” I whispered, pressing a kiss to his chest. “You make my stomach drop, and my heart fly out of my throat.” I laughed softly, tugging his nipple between my teeth. “You make me want to scream.”

He hissed, his back lifting with my bite. “Scream in pleasure or frustration?”

He often paired the two. His chuckle told me he had the same thought.

I soothed his nipple with a swirl of my tongue and a kiss, then rested my ear over his heart.

Thump, thump, thump. A steady rhythm that threatened to lull me to sleep when my body was so relaxed. But I had lunch with my mom later and a party to prepare for. Plus, I needed to get Liam’s present together. We agreed to exchange them at midnight—our birthday middle ground.

But staying in bed all day didn’t sound so bad. Not the sex… well, not just the sex. Phenomenal, fantastic, and new as that kind of gratification was for me; the connection of our hearts left me most satisfied.

Everything about this feeling was the best high. I’d pushed and challenged myself from the moment Liam reappeared in my life. This was more than a New Me—it was my untapped potential after years of holding myself back. He encouraged me forward.

Was this what it was supposed to be like? No wonder people in love smile so much.

Am I in love? I’d always loved Liam, but was that the same thing?

“Come give me my spankings in the shower.” He patted my hip and rolled out of bed to slip on a pair of briefs. He tossed me a shirt and sleep shorts. “I didn’t hear Shana come home, but with your thighs squeezing my head, a parade could come through, and I might miss it.”

“No regrets,” I said with a smile.

I had my confidence, my grant, and Liam. Impossible to harbor regret when things had fallen into place. But they hadn’t haphazardly fallen, had they? I’d arranged them.

No longer was I the girl who settled.

I caught the knock on the door after slipping into the bathroom behind Liam.

“Don’t get it,” he murmured, pulling me into his arms. “It’s probably Sergio looking for Shana, and she’s not home, anyway. The guy is pushy and will corner you into a conversation about dumbass digital assets with monkeys.”

I squinted. “What? Are you having a stroke?”

Liam sighed. “It’s not important. I want to wash your hair while the water is still hot.”

He reached for me again, but I wiggled out of his grip. “My mom is having my gift delivered this morning.”

He dropped his head and groaned. “You’ll see her in, like, two hours at lunch. She couldn’t give it to you then?”

My mom’s schedule could flip on a dime if an emergency came through the OR. Plans with her were always tenuous and tentative. She did her best to prevent me from feeling forgotten or pushed to the side, but in recent years, that was delivered gifts.

When Liam’s mom was alive, she filled in when my mom was pulled away.

I cleared my throat. “I’ll be right back.”

His briefs hit the floor with a soft whoosh, and he stood naked, proud, and hard— how already? —with a grin. “I’ve got a package for you to receive, Brooke.” He didn’t wait for my response, leaning into the shower to run the water. “Hurry before it’s returned to sender.”

I rolled my eyes, but I permitted one last admiring look at his firm and sculpted ass. The globes on that man. “I’ll be quick.”

Checking myself in the mirror, I confirmed that I was no worse than a case of bedhead and a rumpled nightshirt despite the rough and ruthless pounding I took last night… and this morning. My finger traced over my smile as I opened the door, expecting a bouquet of flowers.

My ex-boyfriend greeted me instead. With a bouquet of flowers.

“Sam,” I sputtered, blinking a few times as my brain adjusted to his presence on my doorstep. I’d sent him a text about the funding, but he made no mention of stopping by. Sam never stopped by unannounced—barring the time he dumped me.

“Happy early birthday, and congratulations.” He handed me the pink carnations. “I figured I’d come by in between your win and your birthday tomorrow.”

“Uh. Thanks.” I sniffed them politely. I opened my mouth to tell him he caught me at a bad moment, but he came with more surprises.

“I got you a present,” he said, shoving a bag at me as he entered the apartment. His keys landed with a loud clatter on the entryway table, a move so familiar that neither of us blinked at the jarring sound. It echoed like unfinished business between us. “Where did you pick for breakfast? I hope the diner on Yesler that gave Paul food poisoning.”

“Sam—”

“It’s a tradition, right?” He pushed up the sleeves of his flannel, crossed his arms, and grinned.

Though we dated for six months, Sam and I had been friends since I started at TechBionic Innovations two years ago. As a senior engineer, he implemented a birthday breakfast policy for the lab. The Friday of someone’s birthday week was celebrated with a team breakfast. It died off after he left, but I didn’t have the heart to tell him when I knew how much he missed working there.

“Do you… You don’t keep in touch with anyone from the lab, do you?”

He swallowed and dropped his eyes, shaking his head. “I don’t. It’s… I’ve been… Pushing away from everything that reminds me of leaving.”

I glanced over my shoulder toward the empty hallway, then back to Sam. He’d swept his hair into a messy wave that told me he’d been pacing and overthinking as he combed his fingers through it. It was a handsome type of messy. The kind he’d once had after long nights working out an engineering issue that was driving him crazy.

He jutted his chin at my hands. “Open it.”

I smiled weakly. “Thanks. You shouldn’t have, but that’s…” I pulled the present from the bag.

Sam gestured to the frame. “You deserved the grant. I’m glad you got it. I can’t imagine a better birthday gift, but?—”

“This is amazing,” I gushed, studying the sketch behind the glass. It was a framed cocktail napkin from the night I sat at the pub with Sam and daydreamed about the initial idea of Zaza. He’d encouraged me to draw it out, and I did. While some things had shifted in her design, the bones were the same. “That’s incredibly thoughtful. I can’t believe you saved this.”

“Are you kidding me? Even just bouncing ideas off the top of your head, it was clear you’d come up with something amazing.” Sam leaned against the door frame, his eyes shining brightly. “You deserved the win.”

I traced the lines beneath the glass. I’d been so excited that night.

“Thank you, really.” I should have invited him in, but I had a naked… boyfriend? Manfriend? Friend with benefits? So many benefits. My cheeks heated. What was Liam to me?

“Friends,” Sam interrupted my thoughts. “I know we’re just friends now, Brooke. Maybe that’s all you want, but I messed up.”

“Huh?” Ineloquent, but my brain appeared to be misfiring this morning. It almost sounded like he...

“I was confused. With my dad and the pub and leaving the lab. I settled for something I didn’t want, but it wasn’t you . It was the circumstances of my life. I got caught up in my regret, and when these thoughts started swirling around about the unfairness of settling… Some asshole spouting off about waking up married and living a life you don’t actually want…” He blew out a long breath. “I was mixed up and hurting. I see that now.”

I blinked repeatedly. “Huh?”

He took a step closer, forcing my retreat. His boots landed as heavy as my pounding heart. “Please, can we… would you let me…” His hand squeezed my forearm. “Brooke?—”

“Candy gram?” a nervous voice called from the doorway. “A sweet treat for the birthday girl, Brooke.”

Mom .

“Christ,” I murmured, waving in the candy man. “That’s me. Unless this ends in you naked.”

The delivery man blushed, the freckles on his cheeks hidden behind crimson. “Nobody’s naked, ma’am.”

“Why am I still alone and naked?” A deep timbre rumbled down the hall.

Sam stood blinking warily. “Did I interrupt something?”

The freckle-faced young man rubbed the back of his neck. “I definitely did. Do you want the candy?”

“Sam, I?—”

Everyone turned as soon as the bathroom door flung open. Steam billowed into the hallway as Liam stepped out with a towel tied around his waist. “Clean and now ready to get?—”

“Stop talking!” I cried, slamming my eyes shut. Oh god. God , this was humiliating. I didn’t want my ex to meet my… not ex under these circumstances.

“It’s you,” Sam murmured, pushing his glasses up and glaring at Liam.

I glanced between them, not missing the slow bob of Liam’s throat or the wide, startled eyes darting to Sam and then me.

“Do you… know each other?” I asked slowly.

Sam gestured angrily at Liam. “Yeah, that’s the asshole who told me not to settle with you. I can’t forget that face because I’ve regretted everything since seeing it.” His fists flexed tight at his side. He stepped in Liam’s direction. “You told me to dump my girlfriend so you could… could what? Fuck her instead?”

“No,” Liam said forcefully. His face reddened, and his eyes fell to the floor. “I had no idea who you were.”

My jaw dropped. The entire situation was ludicrous, absolutely insane. I mean, the statistical probability of them meeting one another alone. It had to be, like, one in…

“Yet you don’t at all seem surprised to see me here.” Sam continued. “You know who I am because you knew who I was.” His posture stiffened, and he flexed his fists at his side.

I gaped at Sam. I’d never seen him angry or territorial.

“No.” Liam shook his head. “I had no idea until the day you dumped her.”

My wild eyes snapped to him. “What?”

Liam tilted his head, his brows pulled tight in a plea. “It’s not what you think, Brooke.”

Blinking repeatedly, I scoffed. “It’s not what I think? What is it—” I sucked in a sharp inhale, cutting myself off.

Did you know? Was this part of your game? Are you trying to humiliate me again? Punish me?

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I saw images of Liam’s hands on my face, in my hair, sliding over my body. Lips smiling and kissing, parted with gasped exhales. Eyes shining and adoring, heated with desire and affection.

Thump, thump, thump. The beat of his heart in my ear.

Thump, thump, thump. The one that matched mine.

A throat cleared, and a meek voice croaked, “Uh. I’m going to need someone to sign for this.” The candy man held up a bag sheepishly. “And uh. Happy birthday, I guess.”