Page 46 of Score on You

“Mhmm, it’s my—”

“Birthday,” I finish for her.

“My golden one is this year.” She taps the trimmed stitching that matches the milestone. Another coincidence.

“We’ll have a big celebration in September.”

“That’s many months away. For right now and always, I get to support you whether you’re on the ice or not. Which is how it should be since you’re my boyfriend.” She slips the mesh fabric over her head and my cock is ready to punch a hole in my jeans.

“Damn,” I croak.

“What do you think?” She tugs at the hem, which rests at mid-thigh in her current position. The baggy material will probably fall to just above her knees once she’s standing.

“Perfection,” I rasp. My gaze feasts on her tagged with my name and number while I wrestle the arousal thrashing through me. “You’re the most stunning sight I’ve ever seen.”

“Thank you,” she murmurs. “For everything.”

“Trust me, sweetness. It’s my pleasure.” I discreetly push at the bulge behind my zipper.

Her stare slides to the steady flow of people entering the Xcel. And that’s just one of many access points. “There are a lot of people at these games, huh?”

I chuckle. “You could say that. Does it bother you?”

Her bottom lip gets tortured between her teeth. “I’m not used to crowds of this size. Knox Creek is big compared to where I grew up. It’s still an adjustment.”

My hand scoops hers into a reassuring hold. “I reserved a private suite to keep us separated from the masses. We’ll have a large room and box seats entirely to ourselves. But if you’re not comfortable, we can do something on a smaller scale.”

“No, I want to try.”

“Are you sure?” I give her fingers a squeeze.

Callie’s blush reignites to replicate a rose garden in full bloom. “With you at my side, I’m sure I can do just about anything.”

Nerves form an unforgiving knot in my stomach. I gulp against the dry desert my throat has become while Ridge leads us closer to the imposing building. People swarm from every direction and create a funnel at the entrance. Sweat prickles at my neck as we approach the fluid stream that flows into the unknown.

What I focus on is the section of glass doors straight ahead. In the center is a circular opening that appears to have a spinning mechanism. That’s precisely where Ridge is steering us.

I slam on the brakes just as a gust from the whirlwind contraption hits my face. “What is that thing?”

He scans the general area as if searching for an invisible problem. “What thing?”

“That.” I point at the strange spiral device.

His gaze shifts from me to the object in front of us. “The revolving door?”

My mouth works silently for several moments. “That’s a door?”

“Yeah…” He drags the singular word through mud. “Haven’t you seen one before?”

“Is this a response from a person who sees them regularly?” I motion to my wide eyes and locked knees. “In case that isn’t obvious, I’ve never seen one before.”

He scrubs at his mouth, trying and failing to hide a growing smile. “You step inside, and it moves automatically. Think of it as a hands-free option.”

“Fancy technology,” I mumble.

“Nah, these have been around for ages.” Ridge no longer bothers to smother his grin. “Just wait for the elevators and escalators.”

The first is a recognizable term, but the second draws a blank. Not that I have personal experience with either of them. “Are they weird like this?”

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