Page 77 of Uniquely in Love

Get some sleep. I’ll talk to you in the morning.

Night, Hockey Boy.

Sweet dreams.

I already knew I’d be dreaming of her.

I always did.

“So,two weeks with your newroommate, huh?” Brooks asked me in the locker room, leaning against his stick. “How’s that going?”

We were all suited up and ready to play against Anaheim. It was our last game of the road trip, and I was ready to get home formultiplereasons.

One of which,yes, was Ellie. It had been so hard to walk away from her the other night, especially when it had been so obvious that we wanted each other. But no matter how much I wanted her, I couldn’t be the one to put my heart on the line. Not again.

I rubbed my hand over my jaw, which was rough with stubble. “It’s… nice, honestly.” I’d forgotten how nice it was to come home to someone else. To have someone to eat dinner with and talk about my day.

Maybe that was the problem. I liked it too much.

“And?”

I frowned. “And what?”

“And? Have you told her how you feel?” Brooks asked, nudging me in the side as I grabbed my helmet.

“He’s asking if you two have fucked yet,” Mav interjected, giving me a shit-eating grin.

I punched him in the arm. “No.”

Brooks rolled his eyes at his brother. “You’re ridiculous. You know that?”

He shrugged. “We’re all thinking it. You saw his texts. What did you say, Harps?I want more?”

Fuck.Why did I have to confess everything to these guys? Looking across the room, I knew the answer. Besides my family, they were my best friends. And over the last few years, I’d spent so much time with them that this team had become my family. Blowing out a breath, I fitted my helmet on my head, antsy to get out onto the ice and start warm-ups. I was eager to burn off some of my excess energy.

“It’s complicated,” I said. I’d wanted to insist it wasn’t like that, but… it was. The problem had never been me wanting her. It had always been her wanting me.

But there was this spark between us that no amount of time could erase. I could still feel the press of her lips against mine. How soft they’d been as I’d coaxed her mouth open. But falling into bed together wouldn’t solve our problems, no matter how badly I wanted it. Craved it.

I shut my eyes, trying not to think about the look of hurt on Ellie’s face when I stopped us from going further that night. Pumping the brakes had been the right call. I knew it in the deepest recesses of my brain, as much as my body disagreed.

Reid made a noise in the back of his throat from behind me as we funneled out of the away locker room and headed towards the tunnel that would take us out onto the ice. “Complicated my arse,” he muttered.

“Mac, you ready to shut this place down?” One of our rookies, Andrei, shouted at Reid from the back of the line. He’d had our last game off, with our alternate goalie—Matthias Farkas—starting in the net against LA.

Goalies were some of the most intense people I’d ever met. They spent the entire game out on the ice, staying completely focused and in the zone. If a puck got past them, it wasn’t just on them. It was also on us as defense for not getting it out of the zone and protecting them better.

Hockey wasn’t just about one guy on the ice—it was about all of us as a team. Win together, lose together. When someone was off or someone went out because of an injury, all of us felt it. Which was why we all felt last night’s loss. But that was the nature of the game. We just had to be at the top of our game. We couldn’t afford to be making sloppy mistakes or letting the opposing team get a bunch of scoring chances.

Reid grinned as he pulled his goalie mask on over his face. “Damn right I am, boys. Let’s go play some hockey.”

“Hear, hear!” Brooks shouted.

Stefan gave his nod of approval, his eyes bright as he surveyed the team. Rhodes was at his side, that permanent frown on his face even with the A on his chest. Grumpy fucker, but he was a damn outstanding hockey player. It was an honor to play on the team with both guys.

Our fifteen minute warm-up period went by fast, per usual. Maverick was first, knocking the pyramid of pucks that sat on the boards onto the ice, and Reid was behind me. We circled the net, each taking turns shooting a puck towards the net, Reid doing his best to block all our shots. I did a few passes before skating over to the bench and bouncing a puck on my stick. At home, I’d normally throw it back into the stands. There were still some Seattle fans here tonight, but it was nothing like being on home ice.

And it was nothing compared to having my girl in the stands, knowing she was there. I wanted her to come to another game, but she hadn’t asked, and I didn’t want to force her. She seemed to have a good time with the other wives and girlfriends, and Sophiahadgotten her number to invite her to hang out, but still. We were roommates and just friends. Except that kiss…

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