Falling

'Lol. Or pull you into the house and have her way with u.' She sent me back jokingly.

A good compromise hit me then. I sent her a last text, 'I have a plan. Something better. You'll like it. U won't get to see me, but I know u'll like it!'

It took her a second to respond back to me. 'Not sure if I'll like it if I don't get to see u.'

'U will, I promise!' I told her.

'I fucking better.' She responded.

'Let me work a while longer, I'll text u later!' I promised her.

'Still mad at u. Not talking to u anymore.' She replied.

'Luv u 2!' I closed.

I went back to my shoveling with a vengeance, focused on getting through my route as quickly as I could. One of the little old ladies I shovel for caught me shoveling her walk and insisted on making me food and cocoa, so I even got to keep my promise to Karly that I would eat without having to take too much of a break from my work!

I got done around six and was exhausted. I got home and sat and counted the money I had made. $380. Not a bad haul, and when I counted that added to what I'd brought home previously I realized I was making some serious bank. Even with what I had spent on my date with Karly and the small gifts I had wracked up for her I had over $800. I was shooting for an even $1,000. That left me with two days to make $200 and a day still to shop! I was in the zone! I'd have to widen my net so I could hit some new places over the next few days but I was pretty confident I could do it. Either that, or pray to the snow gods for more snow!

I was close to my second hand store so I popped in and looked around. I managed to find one of those little instant single serve coffee makers, which I knew Karly was going to love, and I picked out a few more DVDs that were really cheap. I also managed to find a really comfy handmade purple quilt that I was sure Karly would go crazy for, so I had a start on my Christmas shopping for her.

I also managed to find a really nice pair of gold stud earrings that would look perfect on her!

The little old lady that ran the shop collected my items and noticed the earrings. She smiled at me, "Something for the girlfriend?"

I smiled at her and nodded. "Yep."

She gave me a warm smile, "Are you looking to spend a little more?" she asked me kindly.

"Do you have a suggestion?" I asked her, curious about what she might have. I had done a lot of shopping here and had never gotten ripped off.

She smiled and went behind the counter. "I just got this in." She set a ring box in front of me. A ring was definitely on my list, so I opened the box. Inside I found a small Black Hills Gold ring, hammered into the shape of a heart and leaves. It was beautiful and I knew I had to have it for Karly.

"How much?" I asked, hoping the answer wasn't out of my price range.

I had done a lot of business and the little old lady that ran the shop knew I couldn't afford much. "Can you do $100?"

I could, but I also knew I shouldn't. I sighed... "I can go $110 for everything."

It was a lot of money, but I knew that it was helping me to take some shortcuts. This way I got the coffee maker for Karly, and some nice gifts and still left me with a solid amount of money to get the couple of must have's for her off of my list.

The old lady smiled and nodded, okay, $110 for everything.

I stopped on the way home at the market and picked up a bunch of little coffees and some basic food supplies.

When I got home I ran the quilt through the laundry that my landlady let me use downstairs. It opened onto the back porch and she was off snowbirding so I had the place to myself. I ran it with really hot water and double detergent, just to make sure it was extra, double clean. I didn't like giving her a second hand gift but I knew she loved purple from the towel she picked out and there was no way I was going to be able to ever sew her a quilt myself. I'd just have to take my chances and hope she liked it!

Going upstairs I took the coffee machine apart and cleaned every nook and cranny with vinegar. I decided to try it out and make myself a cup of coffee from the selections I had made for Karly, not really knowing which kind of coffee she liked.

'Gonna solve that tonight!' I thought.

I texted her, 'So are you ready?'

It took a few minutes but she responded back. 'Give me a sec, i'm taking a shower.'

The mental image of that didn't help me much...

I responded back, 'Pics or I don't believe you!'

My phone chirped. I looked at it and saw that she had indeed sent me a pic. Holy fuck! It was a shot over her shoulder, taken in the mirror... she had a towel wrapped around herself and her hair pinned up... there was no way she could be more beautiful...

I responded back, 'Putting that on Facebook, mind if I tag u?'

My phone chirped, 'Do that and you'll never see what's under this towel ever again...'

Ouch. 'Point taken.'

I quickly made myself something to eat and got clothes ready to go downstairs, moving her quilt into the dryer and starting a load of laundry for myself.

When I got back upstairs the message light on my phone was blinking. I sat down with my food and looked at her text, 'This better be fucking good!'

I responded back to her, 'It will be!'

'So get on with it!'

I asked her, 'Would you like to play a game?' hearing in my mind the creepy guy from the Saw movies...

'What kind of game? Is it a sexy game?'

I texted her, 'It's called let's learn about Karly!'

'This game sounds like it sucks... I already know about Karly!'

I laughed, 'I realized today, I know more about your body than I know about your mind. That's unacceptable! So here's how the game works, I ask you a question. Then I have to answer that question for u. Then we switch. You have to answer and you have to be honest.'

'Yep. This game definitely sucks!'

I scowled at her... 'What's your favorite color?'

'This is dumb.'

I told her, 'No it isn't. What's your favorite color.'

'Purple. Ur turn now.'

I responded, 'Grey. Now u have to ask one, but remember, anything you ask me, you have to answer urself too!'

'What's ur favorite sexual position?'

I realized then... this could get embarrassing fast... I sat and thought about it. 'I like it when ur on top.'

'Why?'

I laughed then and realized I'd turned the tables on her! 'Nope. That not the way the game works! U have to answer! Then it's my turn to ask a question!'

'Yep this game sucks! Tell me!'

I was enjoying her frustration. 'Nope play by the rules or I'm cutting you off... I think a week will do.' I could see her growling in frustration.

'No fair using sex as a weapon! I liked it best when you bent me over the table. I like it from behind.'

The pleasant memory of that flashed through my mind. She was being dirty, and while I was tempted to raise the stakes and try to outdo her, I really wanted to get to know her better. 'What's ur favorite sport?'

'U gotta be fucking kidding me!'

I laughed and responded, 'Play by the rules or I'll make it two weeks!'

'I like to watch you wrestle, does that count?'

I figured it did. 'Football for me.'

'Why do you like me on top best?'

I pictured her on top of me... Yummy! 'I get to see your beautiful body working, it's like a private show just for me.'

'I like you from behind because you hit my spot so much harder, and you drive into me harder.'

I was starting to realize how much she liked rough sex. The very thought of that opened up some really interesting angles...

'Vaginal, anal or oral?'

This was a win for me one war or the other! 'it depends on my mood. I like each in it's own way. Oral is awesome because it's a gift from you. Vaginal I feel closer to you. Anal makes me feel like I have total control over you. I like vaginal best. I feel closest to you.'

'Ur turn to ask.'

I caught her trying to be sneaky... 'Nope! Play by the rules cheaterface! U have to answer that one!'

'...Anal.'

Fucking what?! 'Why!!!?'

'Hahaha! Made you waste one of ur questions on a dirty one!'

I cursed her under my breath. She was right. 'So you lied?'

'No.'

My eyes narrowed. 'So answer.'

'It's naughty. I'm not supposed to like it. You wrap your arms so tight around me. It's so much tighter I know I'm making you feel good. The sensation is a nice mix of pain and awesome pleasure.'

Okay, I was getting hard thinking about her. 'Do you think we'll stay together once school ends?'

That one came completely out of left field. I was expecting another sex question. 'Absolutely. I'm never letting you go. U?'

'...No.'

My heart sunk in my chest. How could she think that?! I had to use up another question! 'Why?'

It took her a really long time to answer, so long in fact I almost called her. 'You have scholarships already. What if I can't get into ur school? What if I can't afford it? U'll get tired of me or find someone more special... one of them will happen.'

Oh, baby girl... 'Nope. Ur wrong. I have scholarships that I cared about before I met u. I don't care about them now. Ur picking our school and I'm following u there and there is no one more special than u. That's how I know we'll stay together. U own my soul now.'

'Do you know how special you make me feel?!'

She gave me an easy one! 'Not nearly as special as you make me feel my perfect baby girl.'

'You are the best thing that ever happened to me.'

I was glad we worked some things out... I moved onto my next question. 'What's ur favorite TV show?'

'Game of Thrones. I like the sex scenes! We should watch that one together and act out all the scenes as they happen...'

I knew then I had to marry this girl...

We went back and forth all night. I learned so much about her. I learned her ring size, eight, and what her favorite type of gemstone was, pearls, surprisingly.

At midnight we said goodnight and Facetimed to say goodnight to each other. It was our first night apart since we had gotten together and I could see it was hard for both of us. She showed me her teddy bear and how she was settled in with him and hugging him tight. I ached for her right then. I wanted to feel her in my arms, feel her delicious warmth next to me as I fell asleep.

"You know how bad I want to kiss you right now?" I asked her.

"Probably as much as I want to fuck you!" She laughed.

I laughed at her silliness. "I think we have our relationship roles reversed!" I told her.

"Yep, that's what makes us perfect for each other!" The joy on her face was so breathtaking...

"Can I take you out on another date tomorrow?" I asked her. "I'd like to come pick you up and take you somewhere special after practice."

She smiled at me, "No, but you can let me pick you up after practice and we can go back to your place, watch a movie and fuck all afternoon..."

I smiled back at her, "Your plan sounds way better than mine."

She looked at me with utter happiness, "I thought so too!"

Chapter.

My phone started chirping at about 5 in the morning. I rolled over and checked it to find people already asking for shovel outs. I really wanted to fall back to sleep, but I also needed the money, so I forced myself to get out of bed, shower and get dressed.

I threw the clothes I would need for practice in a bag and headed out to start making money. I texted my customers back and let them know I would be by to get them taken care of and asked them to stash my cash so I could grab it when I was done. They all responded back that they would be happy to. I did some quick mental math and realized that just what I had on my plate right now would put me over my goal!

Now I just needed to bust my ass and get it all done before I had to meet Joe to head to practice. I had a little less than 4 hours to get 20 driveways done. It was going to be extremely tight!

I worked with a passion all morning. I ended up needing to call Joe between jobs and ask him if he could pick me up at one of my customers' places. He was happy to help, and I promised him some gas money.

He pulled up at the house as I was collecting my fee from beneath the doormat.

We rode to practice and I counted my haul from today. With the new money I was up to $1,082! Take away what I had spent on Karly already and I was in good shape!

I started to put the money away and realized that I needed to do something. I took $82 and handed it to Joe. We were at a stop light and he gave me a funny look as he took the cash. "What's this for?" he asked me.

"Dude, you've been a good friend, driving across town to pick me up, drop me off. Call it late gas money." I answered him.

He tried to hand the money back to me, "My parents pay for my gas, I don't need this."

I pushed the money back to him, "Give it to them then, do what you think is right. I'd like to help out and I have the chance to right now. Please, take it."

He looked at the money and finally, with a shrug, put it in his pocket. "Thanks man."

I nodded, putting my head back on the seat. I was pretty tired already and still had three hours of hard practice ahead of me. I would make it, but it was not going to be fun...

Practice was brutal. Coach made me wrestle with him to make up for missing yesterday. He was one of the few people on the team I couldn't coast on. Wresting him was like wrestling a live, angry bear. He had weight on me and was brutally strong, even by my standards. Add to that the fact that he had been wrestling for the better part of three decades and it was a fight just to survive a match with him.

He beat my ass up one side of the mats and down the other. I didn't get pinned nearly as often and I usually did with him though.

I even managed to do a quick hip throw on my at one point that took him completely by surprise. It would have been a pin against most opponents, but he managed to rescue it and turn it merely into a takedown. He managed to reverse me out of it and still pin me in the end, but I was proud to have caught him flat footed.

For conditioning coach had us do 20 laps around the inside of the school. That was not fun... it worked out to be about three miles of running and between the shoveling, the brutal practice and the run by the end I was dragging ass. I finished up about mid way into the pack, which I was happy with, considering I was the third heaviest guy on the team...

I showered and got dressed, looking forward to my date with Karly, and thanking god that this practice was over. Never again would I shovel before practice I promised myself.

As I was leaving the locker room coach stopped me and asked if he could see me in his office. I nodded, wondering if I would be getting in trouble for missing practice yesterday after all.

I stepped in and he motioned me to close the door. I did and had a seat. He looked at me and finally asked, "Everything okay?"

I nodded at him, surprised at his concern. Coach knew about everything that had gone with my dad, and when I moved out on my own he was one of the first to express concern for me. He even offered to let me come stay with him...

I was amazed at his generosity. He was a really good man. The type of man that taught because he loved the work. The type of man that gave of himself to make kids better. He was a rare man and I was lucky to benefit from having the privilege of learning from him. I smiled at him to make sure he knew that I was okay, "Yeah coach, I'm good."

He gave me another concerned look. "I was worried about you when you called out yesterday. Have you ever missed a practice?"

I nodded, "Yeah, I missed one last year because I had the flu."

He raised an eyebrow, "Forgive me if I'm overstepping, but I know your family situation. Anything happening there you need help with?"

I shook my head, "No, still the same there. My apartment is working out well. Still not talking to my dad, mom still pretty much absent."

He frowned. "Look, I give you guys the free day so you can take it, so you don't have to answer, but do you mind telling me why you missed yesterday?"

I knew some would think coach was leaning on me. I knew he wasn't. He wasn't asking because he disapproved, or to punish me, he was asking because he cared about my well being and missing practice wasn't like me. He knew that could mean I was in trouble and he wanted to make sure he stepped in and took care of me if he had to. I shook my head, "Honestly coach..." I hesitated, not sure how much to tell him, I took a deep breath and felt a bit of pain in my heart, "look, you know my homelife was pretty bad, but you really only know about the very tippy top of the iceberg. My childhood was pretty shitty. I opened up about some of that stuff that happened with someone the night before practice."

I sighed again. "It took a lot out of me. I knew yesterday that I wasn't in any kind of shape to be here. I'd be wasting my time and yours."

He smiled a wry smile, "You promise me that you don't need my help with anything. You're good."

I smiled back to him, "I swear coach. I'm all good. Things are going really well."

He nodded his head. "I also wanted you to know, I'm proud of you."

It was something adults were supposed to say. I know at that point technically I was an adult too, but I still felt like a kid, so that was how I looked at myself.

He continued, "You wrestled better today than I've ever seen you wrestle. Normally wresting you is like wrestling a caged animal. You have good skill, but you're brutal on your opponent. That will take you far, but today you used your brain. You have good instincts and your aggressiveness combined with your strength and speed make you unpredictable. Today, it was a lot tougher to take you on. You still had a good sharp edge on, but you paid a lot more attention to what was going on and I could see you putting the matches together tactically."

I felt a beam of pride at his praise! "Thank you coach, I'll keep trying."

He shook his head, "I don't think you understand what I'm saying. I didn't have your talent when I was a senior in high school. I won a national championship in college. I'm going to contact some people I know... and by the time they get word out of how talented you are... well, lets just say I don't think you're going to have any trouble getting into any school in the US that has a wrestling program."

I was shocked. Coach was writing me a blank check. One I knew he was good for! He was an awesome wrestler in college and was even better at networking. Combine that with his raw love for the sport and I knew he had a network of people that could help arrange the very thing he was talking about.

My thoughts then ran to Karly! I could keep my promise to her for sure!

I smiled and jumped up and shook his hand. He laughed and looked at me with pride, "Thank you coach! I won't let you down, I promise!"

He laughed again, "I know you won't Gabby. Have a good day..."

I knew that was a polite dismissal. I grabbed my stuff and started to head for the door, he stopped me, "Also, take tomorrow off too. I think you could use a rest, and I want you fresh for Reno. You promise me that you'll take it easy if I give you the day off?"

I wondered then if he knew about the shoveling... I looked at him seriously. "I will coach. Nothing but rest and getting food in me."

He smiled. "Then I'll see you on the bus Monday at noon right?"

I nodded and started to leave when a thought occurred to me, I turned back to him. "Coach?"

He looked up from some paperwork he had started to thumb through. "Yeah?"

I bit the inside of my cheek. It was embarrassing to talk about but I figured I probably should. "I've been dating Karly for a few days now..."

He smiled. "I noticed the two of you looked pretty cozy on the bus the other night. She make you happy?"

I nodded shyly, "She's fantastic."

He smiled, "She is pretty amazing." He allowed.