28

Part six of six! Enjoy.

_

Chapter 25: Seven Years

"Come on, man, four more. Then I'll let you take that ice bath."

"That's not really motivation, Golding."

Sarah laughed, "Yeah well, you'll do it anyway because you want to pitch this spring."

She was lunging on the floor of the training room, spotting her latest charge, the number one pitcher for the Astros who was working through some lower back spasms. The facilities for pro sports teams still astounded her and she went to work every day in awe that she had made the cut to work in one. Right out of graduate school, she had applied to every major league team in the country. Houston was the only one to call her back. She went happily and loved her work.

"Alright, you're good. Hit the bath. And don't overdo it in practice tomorrow! I'll know if you do."

"Yes, ma'am." They shook hands.

Sarah had found during her internships that bonding with fellow athletes was easy. She established good relationships with her clients working through sports injuries. They respected her medical opinion and her softball background. Working with baseball players was especially rewarding, but really, she was just happy to be around people who took their recovery so seriously. For athletes, recovery was business.

After logging her notes on her last patient of the day, Sarah hopped in her Jeep to head home. She stopped for take-out on the way. The warm weather and mild breeze was pleasant. She still found herself surprised by the subtropical climate, it being so different from where she grew up. Not that this was better, in fact, if she was honest, Sarah preferred the varied climate and the snow.

As she put the take-out containers in her car, the bluetooth connected to her phone rang through the Jeep's speakers. Carly's icon popped up, a picture of her in her wedding dress and Sarah in her bridesmaid's dress. That was the last time Sarah had long hair and probably the last time she wore a dress. Sarah wore her hair shorter now, an undercut with the longer top bleached a brighter blonde than her natural dark blonde roots, though when she wasn't working, this was often obscured by a baseball cap.

"Hi Carly!"

"Sarah! How's everything in Houston?"

"Gorgeous, better than Boston," she teased.

"No, it's not," Carly laughed, "But I'm glad you still like it. Are you coming our way anytime soon? I don't know how much you travel with the team."

"Uh, sometimes, I'm still the low-man on the totem pole, so I go when no one else wants to. I was thinking of making a trip before the season starts, right after spring training."

"That would be great!" Carly's classic squeal was a bit calmer now, but still rang out in Sarah's car enough to make her flinch. "Will you bring Jen too?"

"If she can get the time off, yes." Sarah's girlfriend, Jen, was a lawyer at a major firm in Houston. They met at a charity gala where they'd been two of the youngest women in the room not hanging on the arm of some wrinkly millionaire. Jen was smart, driven, and hot. They'd hit it off and moved in together after just four months of dating.

"Great, I think you'll like the spring here. Campus is beautiful. I'll make sure David gets some time off so we can do something fun. Oh and Finn will be walking by then!"

"That kid is still crawling? Tell him Aunt Sarah's got some exercises for him to do!"

Carly laughed, "I will. I miss you, Sar."

"Miss you too."

"I'll text you tomorrow, I've got to get some stuff done while the monster sleeps. I really just wanted to see if you were coming to our time zone soon."

"Sounds good, yeah, I'll see you soon, Carly. I'll look at some dates and email you guys."

"Bye, hon!"

"Bye!"

Sarah smiled, it would be good to see Carly and David and little Finn again. It had been months since she went to meet the baby after he was born. Boston really suited them well. Carly taught first grade and David was a professor at MIT. They joked about how their students were essentially the same: moody, needed naps, and couldn't stop touching each other.

Jen's car was in the driveway when she got home. They were renting a small, two bedroom house in a busy neighborhood outside of the city. Sarah loved the space, but the yard was a pain with their schedules. She noticed again that the hedges out front needed more trimming.

Grabbing the take-out and opening the front door, she announced her arrival, "I'm home! And I bring sustenance!"

There was a responding "whoop" from the second bedroom. That meant Jen was still working. The second bedroom was for guests, technically, but was mostly her office.

"Give me ten minutes!" came her reply. Sarah filled a plate with food and plopped onto the couch. Twenty minutes later, Jen emerged, phone still in hand answering a few emails. She gave Sarah a peck on the cheek and went to grab a plate from the kitchen.

"I'd ask you how work was, but it looks like you're still at it," Sarah commented when Jen finally sat down.

"Sorry, babe. I'll put it away. Just trying to get all the documents from this client in one location. They are a bit of a scatter brain." Jen smiled and thanked Sarah for the dinner.

They sat in comfortable silence, watching some TV and eating as they both decompressed from their busy jobs. It was hard to remember sometimes what it felt like to just do nothing together. When they first started dating, they had to squeeze in time together in their calendars. That's probably why it took them four months to decide to move in when most of their acquaintances were u-hauling after a few weeks. But, happily, they found neither resented the other's crazy schedule, and Sarah admitted it was nice having someone to fall into bed with at the end of a long day.

"So I talked to Carly today. She invited us to come up."

Jen flicked her short brown hair out of her eyes, "When?"

"March, probably. Think you could swing it?"

Jen nodded with a mouthful of food as she thought, "Maybe, I'll have to check on a few cases we're taking on."

Sarah knew that's as much of an answer as she could expect right now with Jen's court schedule. They cuddled up on the couch, leaving the dishes for later. Sarah let her hands wander down Jen's open blouse and over her bra. Her eyes stayed on the TV, but she felt Jen turn to look at her.

"Don't start something you can't finish, Golding," she teased. She pressed her large breasts into Sarah's touch.

"Oh, I can finish it," Sarah growled into her ear. Jen squealed and jumped off the couch, pulling Sarah with her. They kissed and clothing fell in the hall as they made their way to the bedroom. Sarah picked up Jen's smaller frame and tossed her onto the bed before climbing over her like a predator. Jen wiggled up to the pillows and watched Sarah hungrily.

"Fuck me, babe," Jen whispered. Sarah wasted no time removing the last barrier, Jen's lacy panties, with a quick yank. Then she dove into her girlfriend's sex with no preamble. Jen moaned her appreciation.

Sarah made fast work of the pussy in front of her. She licked and sucked at the lips until she felt some of Jen's own lube flood out, then she followed with two fingers. Jen's breathy moans filled the bedroom as Sarah moved her mouth to her clit. Her girlfriend's white, plush thighs trapped Sarah's head as she worked. This was her favorite thing, the way Jen's body just responded enthusiastically to everything Sarah did.

"Yes, yes, babe, keep going!" Sarah had no intention of stopping. She kept a steady pace on Jen's clit and picked up the pounding of her vagina with her fingers. Her free hand wandered up to play with Jen's ample breasts. Sarah watched them rise and fall as Jen's breathing quickened. "Yes, fuck me, yes!" Jen came with a shout and those thighs pressed Sarah's head hard. She slowed to let Jen come down, but didn't let off completely.

"Good, baby?" Sarah looked up to see Jen's chest flushed red and a satisfied smile.

"Great," she breathed.

Sarah nodded and moved her mouth back to Jen's clit, teasing its oversensitivity gently. She responded instantly by arching her back off the bed and whimpering. Fingers still buried in Jen, Sarah grabbed her by the arch in her back and pulled her up into a deep kiss. Hungrily, Jen wrapped her arms around Sarah and dug her tongue into her mouth.

Their makeout didn't last long as Sarah pumped her fingers deeper and Jen fell back to the pillows and lifted her legs to give Sarah more and more access. She bit and sucked thigh flesh into her mouth as her fingers worked in a come hither motion inside Jen's now dripping cunt.

It only took a few moments in this new position for Jen to come around Sarah's fingers. "Fuuuuck, yes!" she screamed. There were many times in their relationship where Sarah was glad they had a house and not an apartment. This was definitely one of them. Jen pulled Sarah on top of her and ran her fingers up her girlfriend's back. Sarah made a show of licking her fingers clean causing Jen's eyes to roll back enthusiastically. She kissed her.

"You want to use the strap tonight, babe?" Jen's eyes met Sarah's as she asked and Sarah knew what she really meant.

"No, I'm good," Sarah responded as she kissed her. "You want to go again, though?" She wiggled her eyebrows and Jen laughed.

"I do still need to get some work done tonight!"

"Boo, we need to get some more fun in before my parents come next week," Sarah said as Jen got up and began the search for her clothing.

"Oh shit, I forgot they were visiting."

"That's why I'm reminding you," Sarah smiled. "You can't yell like that if my parents are sleeping in the next room!" Jen swatted Sarah and blew her a kiss. Then she left to presumably find her phone and get more work done. Sarah sighed and rolled off the bed to shower.

In the shower, Sarah sought a little relief for herself with her fingers. She let the hot water run down her back and relaxed into the motion of her hand on her clit. It's not that Jen wasn't willing to give her her own release in the bedroom, since college Sarah had just developed a...habit. She fucked women, but they did not fuck her. While Jen was always ready to try to return the favor, it never worked and Sarah ended up frustrated or embarrassed. The one loophole they found was that Sarah could come while wearing a strap on with the little nubs inside rubbing on her clit.

Well, and Sarah could still get herself there, alone, and mostly in the shower.

She rocked against her own hand, feeling the pressure build. Her mind flashed to eating Jen out, the taste, the moans. Her fingers picked up the pace, rubbing furiously now. The hot water splashed on her shoulders and she steadied herself with her free hand on the wall by the faucet. Other nights came to mind, pounding Jen from behind with the strap on while her girlfriend screamed in delight. Or the girl she met in grad school who always squirted when Sarah fingered her. Or the one night stand she'd fucked against a wall in a club bathroom. Fuck. Sarah came with a quiet shake.

Finishing her shower, she spent the evening watching TV and coaxing Jen away from work periodically for kisses, conversations, or snacks. Eventually she went to bed and Jen joined a while later. It was a typical night, peaceful, and Sarah was happy.

_ _

Her emails were way behind, but that's what happened when you spent the day treating one patient after another and only stopping to chart and eat a granola bar. But now with the last hour of her day free, Sarah sat down to read some of the emails and deal with paperwork she'd been putting off.

As she sat at her computer, a particular email caught her attention. It was from a grad school professor, one who had taken her under his wing when she'd expressed interest in being a sports team's physical therapist. It was the typical greeting. He asked for an update about her life and work in Houston, then it went on to detail a job opening. Apparently, he'd recommended her to an NFL team who was looking for a new head physical therapist as theirs was set to retire at the end of the season. This meant the New York Jets had an opening.

Sarah sucked in a breath. New York? Football? Was that something she wanted?

Her mind raced to the possibilities, the closeness to Carly and David, the chance to lead a team, probably more money, and back in the same time zone as her parents. But...Jen. She had a booming practice here in Houston. Would she want to leave? Sarah shot an email back to the professor thanking him for the recommendation and promising to consider it if she got the call.

At home that night, she had to wait for Jen to finish up a conference call before she could bring it up.

"It's not an actual job offer, he's just letting me know he recommended me."

"But, you think they'll call you?" Jen asked.

"It's possible. I don't really know how it works with inside connections."

"So...if they do call, you want to go?"

Sarah paused, "I- I guess I'd consider it, ya know? I like New York."

Jen nodded, "Would you like working for the NFL? It's kind of a boys club, isn't it?"

"Well, so is baseball," Sarah chuckled, "And I'm doing okay here. Plus that's all changing. There's women who coach and referee now. But I'm not even really thinking about it yet. This is all speculation until I get an actual job offer. I just want to put it out there. Would you, would you ever consider New York?"

Jen seemed surprised by this, "You'd want me to come with you?"

"Well, if, and remember it's a big if, I'd like to think you would. Yes."

"Sarah, I-"

"Don't answer now, just like, keep it in your brain, okay? We don't even know if I'll get an offer. I probably won't."

But she did.

Sarah got the call two weeks later and was asked to fly in for an interview. She was able to time her interview with her visit to Carly and David. It was February, so a bit earlier than they planned, but still they made time for her. Jen couldn't go as her court schedule had been backed up since the new year and she still did not have a handle on it. She drove Sarah to the airport and kissed her for luck.

The interview went well. Sarah got to meet the physical therapy team and tour the incredible facilities. A few players wandered in and out and Sarah was impressed with the casual atmosphere of the place. She knew the Jets weren't particularly good right now, but that would have no bearing on treatment or her pay, so that wasn't a factor. Not for her at least.

Apparently, the Jets also thought the interview went well as she had a job offer in her inbox by the time she boarded the train to Boston. She loved riding the train and it meant she had more time to think than in a plane. The salary figure made her choke a bit, it was...excessive, but she knew it would be well earned with the hours a lead therapist worked.

Carly picked her up from the station in a blue minivan with Finn strapped in behind them.

"It's freaking freezing here!" Sarah called as she dove into the warm car. "Why do you live here again?!"

Carly laughed, "It's so pretty though! Look at that brown slush, and the potholes full of mud!" They drove back to Carly and David's house with Finn making giggling noises behind them. Sarah talked about the interview, the offer, and her worries over a cross-country move. Carly listened and made faces at Finn in the mirrors.

David joined them for dinner at home. "What does Jen think about moving to New York?" he asked.

"Well, she didn't really say. When I got the call for the interview she said she was happy for me and she had promised to just think about it when we first learned about the opportunity. But I haven't called her yet to tell her they made the offer. She's still in court until six o'clock her time." Sarah shrugged.

Finn dumped a bowl of cheerios on the floor and looked to Sarah for approval, she laughed heartily and he seemed pleased.

Later that evening after Carly and David got Finn down, the adults sat themselves on the couch with glasses of wine. Sarah had called Jen and she gave her honest congratulations with promises to talk later. Now, she was just enjoying her best friends' company and smiling that a move closer meant many more nights like this.

"So." Carly said the word with a weight behind it and David set down his glass, apparently aware of where this was going. "New York, huh?"

"Uh, yeah, Carly? That's what we've been talking about for weeks?" Where was she going with this?

"Don't think I'm reading into this or anything. I mean, don't take this the wrong way, but- like okay, I don't want you to think that I don't believe in Jen or anything that-"

"Carly." Sarah knew her friend well enough to know when she was stalling on a difficult topic.

"Yeah?"

"Out with it."

"Right," she glanced at David for support, "You coming to New York doesn't have anything to do with the fact that Roisin lives there, does it?"

Sarah's mind blanked. Wherever she thought Carly was going, that was not it.

"Uh, what?"

"You know, because Ro is performing in New York now. Do you think that had any bearing on your choice?"

"I, uh, I didn't know she was in New York," Sarah whispered looking into her wine. David looked at her doubtfully. "I didn't! I sort of hid everything from her social media years ago. I was a little obsessed there for a while, I didn't want to keep checking up on her and ruin whatever shot I had at another relationship."

Carly snorted, "I don't think what you did senior year could be classified as 'relationships' in any sense."

"Thanks, Carly," she responded sarcastically.

"You know what I mean. I just, I thought maybe you knew Ro was there, that's why you wanted to accept the job."

"There's no shame in that," David added, "from what we hear from Tara, she's as bad a serial...dater, as you were after you called it quits."

"David!" Carly gave him a 'we talked about this' look and he backed off.

"Ro and I were together for, what, a few months over seven years ago. I'm sure we're both different people now." Sarah swirled her wine, even to her own ears, her voice sounded a bit weak.

_ _

The visit with Carly and David was pleasant. Finn was adorable and by the end of her stay, was attached to Sarah at the hip. Carly drove her to the airport and Jen was waiting to pick her up in Houston that afternoon. On the way home, they talked about Carly's family, the weather on the east coast, everything about her trip, but the purpose of it.

At home, they tumbled into the bedroom, clothes flying off in every direction. Sarah didn't even care that she was post-flight gross, she dove at Jen with renewed fervor. They spent hours, running through everything they loved to do together. Sarah licked her, sucked her, fingered her, and played with her soft breasts. Jen kissed Sarah, left hickies on her neck, and pulled her hair while Sarah was eating her out. They got out the strap on and Sarah pounded Jen into the mattress harder than she had in awhile. Jen moaned, screamed, bucked, and came over and over. Finally, with the strap hitting the right spot while Sarah drilled her girlfriend from behind, she came hard and collapsed.

After a shower where they washed each other and just made out in the hot water, they curled up on their bed in each other's arms. The setting sun bathed their room in oranges and pinks and cast long shadows over their bed. Sarah brushed some hair out of Jen's eyes.

Jen was the first to break the silence, "You're moving to New York."

Sarah nodded, "And you're not."

Jen smiled sadly. She didn't have to answer. Sarah knew enough about her girlfriend to see the decision was made a while ago and she wasn't changing her mind. This had been a goodbye of sorts. Both women knew it.