Page 97 of Mr. Swoony

He straightens his neck to look at me. “It’s hard. She’s my baby sister, and hockey players aren’t always as good to their girlfriends as Rowan is.”

I poke him in the stomach. “And you? What kind of hockey player are you?”

I’m not worried. Conor is pretty straightforward with how he feels for me. And he’s always touching me. But at the same time, he’s not taking pictures of us and posting them online like Rowan and Henry. I know it’s early for us, and most of his social media is his endorsements and him working out with the guys, so I try not to read into it too much.

“I’m a one-woman hockey player if that’s what you’re asking.”

I urge him to tip his head back, and the shampoo runs out of his hair under the water. “I wasn’t.” My voice comes out a little more defensive than I intended.

He stands straight, taking me by the shoulders so we switch places, and again I’m under the stream of the water. “You were though, no?”

“The season is about to start. Things will be different.” I’ve tried not to give it too much thought, how things might shift between us once a good portion of his day is dedicated to his career.

Conor takes my loofah and pumps some body wash onto it. “This is the part I’ve been looking forward to.” He watches as he runs the soap-filled loofah along my skin. “It’s not going to be easy, but I’ll do everything I can to reassure you that when I’m away, you’re still top of mind.”

“Then you won’t win the Cup.” The last thing I want is to be a distraction to him getting where he wants with his career. He’s worked too hard for too many years.

“Let me worry about that. You just be naked or in sexy lingerie when I get home.” He keeps me under the cascade of water.

Once I’m rinsed off, I take the loofah and wash him, giving his dick some extra attention. I don’t mention the season or what’s in front of us because I don’t want to spend energy worrying and being anxious about problems that may or may not present themselves. I want to take life as it comes and enjoy our path that I hope leads to love. At least for tonight, we’re going to keep it fun.

We finish showering, and I’m surprised he never tried to make a move. Not even a kiss.

He opens the shower door and grabs a plush towel from under the cabinet and wraps it around me. “I think I deserve a reward.”

“Let me guess, you want a blow job for not even feeling me up?”

He chuckles. “No.” He pulls another towel out and dries himself before wrapping it around his waist. “I’m hijacking your pillow. You can find it in your new bed.” He shoots me a mischievous smile and walks out of the room. “But if you’d rather give me a blow job, no complaints.”

I watch him pick up my pillow off the bed and walk out of my bedroom.

“Hurry because I want sushi and then you.” He spins around. “Actually, maybe sushi on you?”

I don’t answer or give him a reaction, just a smile, and he winks before disappearing from the room.

Going back into the bathroom, I get my hair wrap and twist my dripping hair up into it. Then I dry myself off and grab my lotion.

With Tristan, this is one of those times I would have just gotten dressed and waited for him to tell me what he wanted to do, but Conor isn’t Tristan. So, I take the lotion bottle and pad to his bedroom. He still has his towel on, and he’s looking at his phone.

I lean my shoulder on the doorframe and wiggle the body lotion in the air. “You forgot the next step. You have to lotion me.”

He tosses the phone on his bed and grabs the bottle from me. “Welcome to the Nilsen massage parlor, where we guarantee a happy ending with every massage.”

Jeez. This man has me wrapped around his finger.

Thirty-Nine

Conor

“How did you talk me into this?” Eloise asks, lying flat on her back as I use my chopsticks to pluck a piece of sushi off her nipple.

“A new idea you don’t have to put on your bucket list.” I slide the California roll into my mouth.

“Maybe that’s what I should do with my life. I can be a sushi model.”

I lean over to make sure she sees my expression that conveys my thoughts on anyone else seeing her like this.

“They don’t lie there naked,” she says. “They wear bikinis and stuff.”

---