All Strings Attached

"Hey, you clean up nice," a deep voice whispered in Kate's ear as she felt a large, toned body sidle up against hers on the dance floor.

"Thanks," she blushed, spinning around to place her arms around Brett's broad shoulders. "Good job at your game today," she giggled into his ear before dropping her lips to nibble softly at the base of his neck. She grinned when he shuddered at her touch and released a strangled groan of pleasure.

"You be careful," Brett warned her, his eyes darkening at her as they danced. Kate felt the beat of the music in her chest as Brett gripped her hips like he couldn't let go. As they gyrated together, his arousal became quite clear so when he led her away from the dance floor, she wasn't surprised. Kate knew the way to Brett's apartment as well as he did, but she let him lead the way. They were a jumble of arms, legs, and kisses as they wrestled their way up the stairs and through the door.

"Hi," Kate giggled up at the handsome varsity athlete after he'd pinned her to his surprisingly neat bed.

"Hi," he beamed down at her, his pleasure at her presence clearly genuine despite his slight intoxication. "I missed you," he breathed, nipping teasingly at her earlobe, neck, and collarbone.

"Ha!" Kate half-laughed and half-moaned at his lips before wrapping her long legs around his waist to pull their bodies flush against each other. "Brett," she breathed, tugging anxiously at the last button on his shirt.

"What?" he responded with a smirk, deciding to tease her a little bit. "What do you want, doll?" he asked playfully, running his index finger feather-lightly up her inner thigh, "Is this what you want?" he murmured against her neck as his fingers collided with her silken panties and he circled her swollen bud.

"Aah!" Kate let out a strangled yelp, convulsing under him. "I'm going to kill you," she glared at him through hooded eyes. Humming with pleasure as Brett continued strumming her lower lips, Kate wrenched his jeans from his muscular hips and he stepped out to assist before climbing onto the bed. With one arm, he pulled her unceremoniously up onto the pillows and with the other he peeled the dress up her hips and over her head, leaving her scantily clad in lace underwear.

"Fuck Kate," Brett growled, his pupils dilated at the sight of his favorite underwear. Though they'd done this many times, Kate couldn't help but feel embarrassingly exposed under Brett's spotlight of a glance. She pushed that thought to the back of her mind, though, when Brett took one of his favorite positions: comfortably situated between her thighs.

"You're so wet," Brett murmured, pressing his lips against the deliciously moist silken fabric at the apex of her thighs. Kate murmured in agreement as he worked his tongue against her clit through the now drenched screen of her panties. Between the long, wet strokes and the short, swift taps against her clit Kate couldn't even think.

"Brett!" she screamed, fisting her hands in his light brown hair as her thighs clenched around his head and she came hard against his lips. She bucked helplessly against the bed as her body was wracked with pleasure.

"You are so sexy when you come," he whispered against her flushed lips after pulling himself up over her still quivering body.

"Your turn, mister," she replied, hooking her fingers under the waistband of his boxers that displayed his impressive erection.

"No Kate," Brett said softly as Kate knelt beside him while pulling her hair back, "I need to be in you right now," he pleaded as he nudged the panties off her hips which she scissored down to her toes. Almost before she could flick them away, he was pulling her up and splaying her legs across his waist. Biting almost clear through her lower lip, she nodded without a thought, rocking her hips against him.

"Please," he begged through gritted teeth as her moist lips stroked across the painfully stiff tip of of his erection. Smiling down at him like some sort of angel of sex, she lowered her hips and sheathed him tightly inside her. "Kate!" he let out a strangled moan as he looked up at her from underneath tightly knitted brows. "I'm not going to last long," he panted up at her as he pulled her hips against his rhythmically.

"Ugh. Yes. Brett!"

"I. Am. Gonna. Come." Brett grunted, picking up the pace of his thrusting and sending Kate into a frenzy of moans and cries. Seconds before his release, he leaned up to capture one of her nipples between his lips and brought her right over the edge with him.

"Brett!" she cried as she crumpled around him.

"God, Kate," Brett sighed, feeling cold as she rolled off of him. She smiled softly at him and he knew that she was about to fall asleep. "I love you," he murmured softly against her hair as he cuddled her close, hoping it wouldn't scare her away again.

...

"Kate," Brett called out, apologizing to his friend as he tore away from their conversation. "Kate! I need to talk to you."

"What's up Brett?" she smiled at him, casual as could be.

"Why'd you leave last weekend?" he asked, "I wanted to bring you out for lunch or something," he trailed off, creating an adorable picture of a sheepish, nervous, six-foot-three baseball player.

"I mean, I woke up before you and didn't see a reason to stay," Kate shrugged, glancing at the space between their feet.

"Why won't you let me take you out? You gotta know I like you, right?" he asked desperately, tired of the girl before him slipping between his fingers.

"Yeah," Kate sighed, "But I also know that you are a good-looking guy on our excellent baseball team. You're a hot commodity among the ladies and I just don't have it in me for us to do whatever it is that you're proposing," she struggled to explain, ignoring the tightening in her chest.

"What? But I only want you," Brett argued, furrowing his brow at her supposed logic.

"For now," she countered. "Look, Brett, I have a bad habit of dating assholes. Every boyfriend I've ever had has cheated on me and I'm just not into that anymore. I like you, Brett, I really do. But I don't need or want anything serious. What we're doing right now, that works for me and I like it. I really, really like it," she smiled dreamily, "But if you need more, you're going to have to find someone else," she grimaced apologetically before adjusting her backpack and striding away.

"Well damn," Brett sighed, reaching his arms up over his head.

...

"Relax babe!" Kara smiled to her co-worker and close friend, "Tonight's a celebration night, smile a little! You might even snag one of these sexy athletes here," she giggled, winking at a football player across the room.

"You know I hate stuff like this," Kate huffed, rolling her eyes at her friend's salacious display. The dim lights, the women dressed to the nines, it was just all to much. Slumping over her drink, she watched the people at the Sports Beat event and snickered at the footballer who was clearly drooling over Kara already. She became so absorbed in people watching that she was caught completely unaware when someone approached her from behind.

"Kate?" a deep voice asked hesitantly.

"Yes?" she furrowed her brow, trying to think of who would be approaching her at this event. Kara was the only friend of hers here and she was clearly tied up with the football player in the corner so who could this be. Twisting her lip up at one side, she turned slowly to see her old college fuckbuddy.

"Hi Kate," Brett smiled crookedly at her. He had a few more years on him than when she had last seen him at their college graduation ceremony, but major league baseball was clearly treating him well.

"Brett," she breathed, caught by surprise at the way her heart was pounding at the mere sight of him, "Hi."

"How are you?" he asked, stepping forward to sweep her into his arms.

"I'm good," she smiled, "And I don't have to ask you how you're doing as I can see it's clearly very well," she laughed.

"Generally, yeah," he smiled as a slow, jazzy song started playing through the room. "Would you like to dance?"

"Um, sure," Kate couldn't help but blush as Brett led her gently out to the dance floor.

"You look really nice by the way," he whispered in her ear as they started to move to the music.

"Thanks," she couldn't help but grin up at him and she felt like she was in college again. The dim lighting, the two Manhattan's she'd had, and the dancing just brought her right back.

"So do you work for the PR group that's hosting this thing?" Brett asked as Kate's luscious scent of vanilla and mint wafted up to him.

"No, my friend does," Kate smiled, nodding her head in Kara's direction, "She brought me as her plus one. She thinks I need to find a man," she chuckled.

"This would be a good place to look," Brett said after a moment of consideration.

"Yeah, definitely," Kate snorted sarcastically, "If you're looking for a rich jerk who'll leave you at home with the kids while he beds rabid fans across the country."

"We're not all like that," the man in front of her replied solemnly, directing a look at Kate which was full of meaning. Kate furrowed her brow for a moment before deciding she didn't have it in her to try and figure it out. Even in their college years, Brett had always stared at her like he wanted to devour her completely. Tonight, though, Kate was the one who was having the most trouble fighting her attraction. "So what do you do?" Brett asked politely, breaking the silence.

"Oh, I'm a first grade teacher," Kate smiled, "So this is way out of my league. I normally rock slacks and shirts, sometimes with paint on them," she chuckled mirthfully, "This dress is actually from college!" she realized aloud.

"Yeah, you wore that to the baseball formal," Brett recalled vividly, fighting the shift in his pants as he reminisced in the wonderful, crazy sex they'd engaged in that night. Kate pursed her lips, surprised that he remembered that.

"Yeah, I did," she smiled shyly. Her face grew hot as her body became hypersensitive to sensation. The hand that was clasped in Brett's grew unbearably sweaty, his hand on her waist became intensely hot, and the lights were suddenly too bright. "I think I need some air," she finally said in a strangled way. Brett nodded slowly as she turned away from him and strode out one of the doors to the balcony.

"Get it together, girl!" Kate reprimanded herself as she savored the cool, misty air against her face. After a good chunk of time spent sitting and calming herself, she stood back up and braced herself to reenter the party with a determined breath.

"Hey girl!" Kara intercepted her with an alcohol-induced grin. "This is Damien! He plays for the Falcons," she smiled brightly at her friend.

"Nice to meet you," Kate smiled softly at him, extending a hand out to him.

"Nice to meet you too," he responded politely in an impossibly deep voice. "Kara tells me you're a first grade teacher?"

"I am," she nodded, "As you can probably tell, I'm way out of my comfort zone here," she laughed nervously.

"Not at all," he shook his head vigorously, "You ladies are a refreshing change of pace." Kate smiled, shrugging at the professional athlete that was going out of his way to be nice to her for Kara. As he returned his attentions to Kate's friend, she couldn't help but notice the svelte blonde who'd captured Brett's attention. Try as she might, Kate was unable to fight down the small twist of anguish that she felt in her chest.

"Hey Kara, I think I'm gonna get out of here. I have some papers to grade," she smiled apologetically at her friend. "It was nice to meet you Damien. I hope to see you around."

"As do I," he nodded, unable to tear his eyes from Kara.

Smiling at his genuine enthrallment, Kate walked purposefully to the coat check, retrieved her coat and continued her trajectory to her car. By the time Brett was able to wrench himself away from the relentless blonde who had cornered him, she was already halfway home.

"Is Kate still here?" he practically ambushed the girl he'd seen Kate with earlier.

"Whoa," Kara backed up from him, surprised by his intensity, "She just left, can I help you?"

"Sorry, um, we were just talking and she never came back from the balcony," he apologized, realizing how strong he must have come off. "I'm Brett," he offered out a hand.

"Oh," Kara's face fell into a look of understanding, "You're Brett," she said in a way that made him feel painfully out of the loop.

"You know who I am?" he questioned, assuming that Kate had long since forgotten about him.

"Of course I do," Kara laughed, "You're Kate's 'One that got away'. Except that she's so in denial that she doesn't realize it."

"I think," she continued, "That the tall blonde over there gave her a reason, in her mind, to push you away again."

"Do you think I could get her phone number from you?" Brett asked as he cursed internally.

"I can do you one better," Kara smiled mischievously, grabbing a cocktail napkin and a pen. With a quick scrawl, Kate's number and address were presented to him. "Go get her, tiger," she smirked knowingly at him. Clutching the two most important pieces of information in the world, Brett half-sprinted out to his car.

...

Back in her own apartment, Kate was feeling much more comfortable in pajamas bottoms and a shirt that had somehow become a crop top in the dryer. She wore it anyways because she was a combination of lazy and alone. With a record playing in the background and her fat cat, Dorian, on her lap, she settled in with a stack of spelling tests and began grading. She became so absorbed that she didn't notice the knocking at the door until the third set of raps.

"One moment!" she called, trying to maneuver Dorian out of her lap without disturbing him too much. Kate patted her hair down self-consciously before opening her door. "Brett?" she asked in shock.

"Hey," he smiled crookedly at her, reaching a hand up to scratch his head sheepishly, realizing he had nothing to say now that he'd gotten to her doorstep.

"Um, hi," she furrowed her brow at his appearance, "What are you doing here?"

"I, um, I'm not sure," he admitted. "It just felt wrong when you left the party. I wanted to see more of you. Or at least have a way to get in touch with you."

"Oh. Well I'm guessing Kara helped you out with both of those things?" she asked with a crooked grin of her own. Brett nodded, feeling horribly overdressed as his eyes ran over her body. The shrunken shirt favored him with a look at her smooth stomach and he found himself aching to see every inch of her skin again.

"Would you like to come in?" she offered after a rather tumultuous battle of thoughts. Brett nodded wordlessly as he stepped through and dwarfed her door frame. Dorian grew curious at the intruder and padded over cautiously. Kate couldn't help but feel warm and fuzzy inside as he squatted down and let her cat sniff his large, calloused hands. Before long, Dorian was rubbing his head and face into Brett, demanding attention and petting.

"Do you mind if I use your bathroom? I was hoping to get out of this suit. Or at least the shirt and jacket," he smiled up at her.

"No, go ahead," Kate nodded, "I might have a pair of big pajama bottoms if you want me to look for them?" she offered, anxious for anything to busy herself so that she didn't burst into the bathroom and jump him while he undressed.

"Thanks," he smiled, "Bathroom is...?"

"That way," Kate pointed behind him, "It's the door end of the hall." He nodded and covered the distance with a mere three strides and Kate shuffled into her bedroom in search of a pair of pajamas and possibly even a large shirt. As luck would have it, she found a pair of plaid pajama bottoms that she had stolen from her brother a few Christmases ago as well as a large varsity baseball shirt that she was pretty sure belonged to Brett anyways. How she'd managed to keep it all these years was beyond her, but she shrugged it off and headed towards the bathroom.

"Brett?" she called through the door, "I found a shirt and some bottoms for you."

"Thanks," his muffled voice responded to her and he opened the door. Kate's eyes widened and she felt a tightening in her core as she realized that he was shirtless. Her pupils dilated with desire and it was all she could do not to drop the clothes in her hands and rake her nails across his chest.

"Um, here," she thrust the wad of fabric at him before turning quickly and trying to bolt out of there. He was faster than her, though, and caught her wrist in his long fingers and pulled her towards him.

"Wait, Kate," he pleaded, caught off guard by her open and vulnerable stare as she let herself be tugged towards him. She stayed silent as her hands reached forwards of their own volition and began exploring his impossibly toned torso. She smiled softly as memories of their college trysts flooded her mind and she decided not to fight her rising arousal. "I love how it feels when you touch me," he murmured to her in a gravelly voice. Placing the clothes on her bathroom counter, he placed on hand at the base of her neck and used the other to tilt her chin up.

"Is this okay?" he asked softly. She nodded and Brett found himself smothering his lips against hers. Kate inhaled sharply before pressing her nails into his skin and responding hungrily. His hands found their way down her sides, stroking the smooth skin of her stomach and back before coming to rest in a soft grip around her hips. His thumbs stroked her hip bones in a most reassuring way and Kate's stomach clenched with desire. Pulling back for a moment, she grabbed his left hand with her right and led him towards her bedroom. She struggled to find the light switch for a moment as Brett resumed his ravaging of her lips. She gave up when he picked her up, carried her over to her bed, and laid her down on it.

"You are so fucking beautiful," he whispered, taking a moment to just admire her beauty. She flushed under his gaze, before he hooked his fingers in her pajama bottoms and pulled them down to her ankles. He was rewarded with the sight of a pair of black, lace-edged panties and he practically growled as he fought his way out of his suit pants.

Kate found herself panting with desire as he climbed on top of her, his eyes on hers like a tractor beam. He hovered above her, his fingers tracing a soft line across the top of her panties, fueling her desire immensely.

"Brett," she mewled, tugging at the waistband of his boxers desperately, needing something, anything more than his soft touch. At the soft sound from her lips, Brett felt something in him break and he reached down to cup her mons through the lace and latched his lips around a pert nipple through her shirt.

"Brett!" she cried out and arched at his touch, her face screwed up in the most adorable way as he stroked her lower lips through the silky fabric and felt it grow slick with her arousal.

"I love how wet you get," he reveled in her responsiveness, as he lowered his lips between her thighs and gave her a long, lingering lick through her panties. Her thighs closed around his ears like a vice and he did his best to bring her to a quick release. It wasn't long before Kate's back arched for him, she called out his name once again, and he was rewarded with a gush of liquid which he lapped up ravenously.

"Lay down for me," Kate said breathlessly when she had recovered from her climax. She tugged him up onto the bed and knelt between his spread eagled legs.

"Kate, I don't know if I can handle that right now," he warned her, recalling how skilled she was with her lips and tongue.

"I want to do this for you. Please?" she asked so preciously that his heart almost broke. Bracing himself for the onslaught of pleasure that he knew was coming, he nodded and watched her descend. She trailed kisses across his chest first and then down the line that divided his abs. As she did so, her fingers hooked under the waistband of his boxers and pulled them down. She maneuvered herself a little awkwardly until she'd freed him of his undergarment and then hovered over his swollen, purple-headed dick. She looked up at him as her lips descended and she reveled in the fluttering of his eyelids as she licked across the head, swiping up the bead of precum that had formed. She grasped his length by the base as she closed her lips around his shaft and started sucking up and down while swirling her tongue around the helmet.