Page 48 of On Thin Ice

I huff and shuffle down his body, letting him win this particular battle because the truth is I really want to go home and sleep. My brain is exhausted from the mental load I've been carrying and with a bomb like the one Ellen just dropped on me I don’t think I can take anymore, not today anyway. Sean takes my hand and leads me across the gym to my locker where he punches in the code and collects my bag, swinging it over his shoulder.

“Erm, hold on.” Lois snaps just before Sean and I reach the door to leave. “Care to explain what the hell is going on here?”

Sean beats me to a response. “Conversation for another time Lo,” he pulls me out the door after him as I throw a ‘I'm sorry I didn’t tell you’ frown at Lois.

I feel bad for keeping our relationship from her but she’s one of my closest friends and I know she looks up at me as a captain. I never wanted her to see me differently or to think I've turned into some puck bunny. These are the times I wish I could be more like Sean, not care about people’s opinions of me and just do what I want to do without fear of judgment. But I'm not like that and I don’t think I ever will be.

Chapter 38

Sean

Callie launches her bag across my bedroom the minute we step foot inside, having been in a major sulk with me the whole way home. I know she didn’t want to leave training, she gets stressed out when she doesn’t have enough time to practice her routines but how the fuck could I have just gone back downstairs to the rink and carried on training after that? Seeing Callie in that state made my heart rise like bile up my throat, watching her try desperately to suck in a breath as she clawed at her neck will forever give me nightmares. Nightmares of losing her, of her having another panic attack and me not being there to fix it for her.

She sighs and falls to a sitting position on the edge of my bed, head in her hands. “I’m so grateful you helped me come down from whatever the fuck that was back there, but I needed to stay and practice.”

“Whatever that was?” I swear this girl is next level complacent at times. “Callie you were having a panic attack!” My palm runs down my face, exhausted from the mentally draining morning I've already had. Hearing Callie admit to her friends that she’s in love me and then watching her fight for her every breath has knocked the soul out of me.

She shakes her head, ponytail swinging with her. “It's not the first time that’s happened and it won’t be the last but I can’t just leave the gym Sean!” She’s getting mad now, frustrated at me for forcing her to leave when she didn’t want to, but she doesn’t get it. I’m not trying to control her, I'm trying to protect her.

I blow out a sharp puff of air. “I was doing what’s best for you, it’s all I ever try to do because I l—”

I stop, halting the word from escaping and watch as Callie’s eyes flicker with knowing, she’s not stupid, she knows what I was about to say. When I'm around her it's like my brain goes to sleep and my tongue just does whatever the fuck it wants, spilling my secrets left, right and centre. “You what?” She whispers and I consider just telling her right here, right now but Lewis’ words ring clear in my mind, reminding me why I wanted to wait for her to say it first. She just told her best friend this morning that she wasn’t there yet and that’s ok, it just serves as a reminder as to why I need to keep my big mouth in check for a little while longer. I look down at the ground, feeling the unfamiliar warmth seep into my cheeks. “Nothing, I just want to protect you baby.”

She heaves a sigh and stands up, pressing her body into mine and encasing me in a soft hug. “I don’t want to need you Sean.” She murmurs into my chest, her voice muffled by the fabric.

I drop a kiss to the crown of her head. “But you do and it’s ok to need me…because I need you too.”

Her tender eyes peer up at me, her freckled cheek bones accentuated by the bright light hanging from my ceiling above our heads. She looks so fucking vulnerable right now and I'm not sure my heart can take it, I feel it splintering as I look down at her, wanting nothing more than to spill my love all over her and drown her in it.

“I want you…always.” She whispers, tiptoeing to lay a light kiss on the point of my chin.

I dip my head and mould her lips with my own, nibbling gently on her bottom lip, electing a groan from deep in her throat. Jesus Christ, everything she does is so sexy.

“I want you too baby,” I breathe into her mouth, running my swollen lips over her’s and enjoying the way her throat tightens with a gulp. “I’ll never get tired of this, of you.”

I push her back onto the bed, her back sinking into my mattress and push my hand up her creamy thigh, dipping into the pulsing heat of her pussy. She’s ready for me, as always, and I waste no time plunging two fingers into the tight, wet heaven between her thighs. Her back arches, body convulsing around me as I lean down and suck her pleading clit between my lips, watching her knuckles turn white as she grips the bedsheet. When she comes all over my tongue — the one I've been lapping up and down her clit for only minutes — I feel a warm sensation wash over me, tightening my chest and making my heart thump excitedly. I don’t think I could love this girl any more if I tried.

Callie

I haven’t been to training all week, Sean was spot on when he said I needed a break and practically forbade me from going to the gym after my panic attack. Ellen has sent me a string of texts over the past week asking if I'm coming back and the word sorry has actually been scattered through the onslaught of messages I’ve received, which shocked me as I don’t think I’ve ever heard that woman admit when she’s in the wrong. I’ve spent the majority of my time reading, completing some coursework on my laptop and spending time with Sean — when he’s not stolen away from me to hit pucks. I’ve had a pretty relaxing week, just what I needed. He on the other hand has been drowning in games and training, the team having been on a losing streak and it's making Sean more stressed by the day. So when I get a text from him at 8pm saying they bagged the win tonight my face lights up without my permission. I haven’t seen him today, I stayed at my dorm last night as I promised Molly we could have a movie night, Sean had training really early this morning so he begrudgingly let me sleep without him — his least favourite thing to let me do. When his victory texts pings onto my lock screen I shoot him a quick text back, knowing I'll be in his bedroom waiting for him when he gets back from his celebratory drinks with the boys tonight. I don’t tell him that though, I’ll just lay there, naked and waiting for him, watching as he swallows and immediately rearranges his cock. I’ll never get bored of the way he looks at me.

Molly, Anais and I order a few pizzas, extra vegetables for me and Anais whilst Molly’s pizza looks like the inside of a morgue. The girl loves meat pizza, extra bacon, extra beef, extra everything that comes from any kind of animal. I watch in awe as usual when she stuffs an entire slice into her open mouth, chewing and humming like a happy child. When the three of us are full enough that all we can do is lay back and groan, I pick up my phone again, one more text from Sean appears on my screen telling me he misses me and I smile lazily as I reply.

“Get a room,” Anais laughs, holding her bulging stomach.

I roll my eyes and lock my phone, slipping it into my back pocket. “Don’t be jealous girls, you’ll have someone that wants you too one day.” The two of them throw me a middle finger and start to clear the coffee table of empty pizzas boxes and wine glasses. I check the time, 11:04pm. Shit, I better leave soon if I want to get to Sean’s before he does. “Actually,” I start and the two of them look up at me, eyebrows high on both of their foreheads. “I’m going to stay at Sean’s tonight.” Molly barks a cocky laugh and opens her palm to Anais. “Cough up, you owe me a tenner.”

My mouth falls open as I watch my so called best friends exchange cash after betting on me to cave and go to my boyfriend’s house for the night. They turn back to me, faces both turned up into devilish grins. “Bitches,” I mutter, making my way to my bedroom and grabbing an overnight bag, cramming it with essentials — plus Sean’s favourite lingerie of mine — and leaving my dorm with a sarcastic wave towards my friends. Maybe I’d be mad at them for betting on me but they’re right, I hate to admit how obsessed I am with Sean Taylor but the man has me in a chokehold.

I arrive at his place by midnight, the house is dark and still, not a light flickering in the window, not the usual sound of cartoon machine guns coming from the TV in the living room. I use my key to get in and whack up the thermostat, shivering as I ascend the stairs towards Sean’s bedroom. The house is fucking freezing, the guys having been out all day training, but the minute I'm tucked under Sean’s huge duvet I hum with delight, wriggling my toes and feeling my skin warm up. His smell is everywhere, coating his pillows and swirling all around the room. I inhale deeply, revelling in his woodsy, manly aftershave and counting the minutes until he comes home so I can cling to his body like a koala for the rest of the night.

Chapter 39

Sean

Thank god we won tonight, I couldn’t have handled another loss after four in a row over the past week. The guys and I went straight to our favourite bar in town which is where we still are at midnight. The drinks have been flowing but I’ve been attempting to keep somewhat of a clear head tonight, some of my teammates can go nuts, downing ten pints of beer, plus shots and still wake up tomorrow ready to go. But I'm not like that at all, the drink goes straight into my blood stream and lives there rent free for at least two days afterwards, making my mind fogging and unclear. I’m not really in the mood to be out tonight anyway, I was hoping to head home and pick up my girl on the way but the boys had other plans and I couldn’t bail as their captain. I agreed to come out for a few hours, which of course turned into five.

“Oh my god man you have to tell us about this girl now, it’s been what… three months or something?” Kyle jeers, jabbing Nick in the shoulder and nearly knocking his beer flying.

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