He started moving, slowly at first, letting me feel every inch of him as he moved in and out of me. Soon, though, our hungry desire and the months of pent-up feelings took hold of him, possessing him with a fury and a madness, and he started thrusting with more and more ferocity, with each intense thrust boosting more and more intense waves of bliss through me.
His face glowed with the intensity of the pleasure he was feeling as he rammed himself into me again and again and again. He was grunting and moaning and gasping, and I could tell his orgasm was on the way. I was already on the edge of my second.
With every plunge, a more intense burst of pleasure rippled through me from the epicenter at the meeting of my thighs, and I urged him on, begging him to go faster and harder.
He began pounding away at a furious, manic speed, and I cried out as my second orgasm was unleashed. Then, just as the waves of bliss tore through every fiber of my body, I felt him pulsating inside me as his own orgasm hit and he roared like a wild beast as the force blasted through him.
He then collapsed onto me, wrapping his arms around me tig
htly, and we held each other like that, one hot, sweaty mess, for a few moments. When he’d caught his breath a bit, he pulled himself out of me and rolled over to the side, still breathing hard.
“I love you, Eryn,” he whispered as he kissed me. “I love you so much.”
“That’s a two-way street,” I replied. “And, I never want to be without you again. Never, ever again.”
We kissed slowly and passionately, and after much quiet bliss, we fell asleep in each other's arms.
EPILOGUE
Two Years Later
I was sweating heavily, and every breath was short and shallow; it just didn't feel like my lungs could take in any more air, as desperately as I wanted them to. It felt like my throat and indeed the entire insides of my chest was on fire – but that didn't matter.
I had to push on.
This was a deciding moment in my life – indeed, perhaps one of the greatest moments of my life. And what I did in the next few minutes would determine whether I would forever remember it as one of my greatest triumphs, or one of my greatest disappointments.
The other team served, and I jumped to intercept the ball as it came sailing over the net, but it was too high, and it passed over my outstretched fingers and dropped abruptly. One of our players dove to try save it, but it hit the floor just inside our line.
The referee blew the whistle, and shouted out, “Point for China! Team China 23, Team USA 22!”
I glanced across at Wade, who was sitting in the stands. His hands were clasped together in front of his face, and he wore an expression that shouted out worry in loud silence, but he fired me an encouraging smile as soon as his eyes met mine.
“You can do it, Eryn!” he shouted out, his voice ringing out loud and clear over the clamor of the huge crowd.
Our captain asked the referee for a quick timeout. We hurried to get together in a huddle while Team China did the same thing on the other side of the net.
“Listen, girls, this is it,” she said. “We're two games to two, this is the decider right here. We've made it this far – and I know it's been tough. I know that you're all exhausted. Hell, I am, too. But do y'all want to go home with Olympic silver or Olympic gold?!”
“Gold!” we all screamed out in unison.
“That's what I thought!” she shouted in response. “Come on, girls, we can do this; we can do this! Bring home that gold, bring it home!”
The Chinese had been destroying us the last three games with their killer server. We had won the first two games – only just, though – with scores of 25 to 21, and 25 to 20.
Since this new girl had come onto the court, she'd been dropping ace after ace with her unusual serving technique, which seemed to involve putting a crazy amount of backspin on the ball and combining it with a height that wasn't usually used in volleyball.
I'd been studying her technique for the last half hour, and suddenly, an idea hit.
“Harriet,” I said to our team captain, “if we can win this next point, give me the serve.”
She raised an eyebrow, obviously feeling unsure about this. “Are you sure, Eryn?” she asked. “I mean, you're strongest up at the net. That's where we need you most.”
“We're in a tough spot right now, Harriet. I've been watching their server very closely, and I think I've got her technique down. If you give me that ball, we can use the same technique they're using to break us against them.”
She breathed in a deep breath as she considered this. Eventually, she nodded.
“My arm's real tired anyway,” she said. “I don't think I've got it in me to serve another one. All right. If we win the next point, you and I will switch positions.”