Page 4 of Get Me to the Starting Line

Thinking of relief, my mind shifts to my dick. It’s been too long. I know I could walk into any bar and pick up some random woman who would love to ride an NHL goalie for the night. I know because I’ve done just that.

In my twenties. Not a lot—I’m too uncomfortable around strangers for it to be a frequent occurrence—but there’s only so much satisfaction my hand can provide.

Besides, most women can’t handle the lifestyle of a goalie. Scratch that—they can handle the lifestyle, but they can’t handle my personality. Or so I’ve been told.

I can’t give them what they need. I’m too overbearing, too intense, too quiet, too controlling, too protective, too needy. You name it, I’ve been called it.

Trying to date became too much of a distraction for me. My head couldn’t handle the pressures of my job and a relationship. So I gave up on finding someone.

Loneliness isn’t something that bothers me. It bothers my dick though, and every once in a while, he likes to remind me of our needs.

Needs that haven’t been met in over a year now.

My mind drifts back to my contract. One more year. Is that what I want? I think back on my career. A rare smile tugs on the cornerof my mouth. I’ve never even thought of doing anything else. It’s all I’ve ever wanted.

It’s been a long sixteen years, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. What the hell am I going to do when it’s over?

“Yes,yes,athousandtimes yes!”

My laugh mixes with Paige’s as we tumble out of my hotel room bed in a clash of limbs from the biggest hug known to sisters.

There was never any doubt I would be her maid of honour. Once upon a time, when I was engaged to Levi’s sperm donor, she was mine. And she was a damn good one. Too bad I had a better sister than a fiancé. But that’s all in the past.

“You’re going to wake up Levi,” I say, shushing her loud cackle.

“Oh, sorry.” She immediately drops her voice and looks over into the dark adjoining room. We strain our ears for a few seconds, listening for movement.

I slump in relief. We’re safe.

Levi was a nightmare to get to sleep tonight. He’s been so difficult since we got here, and no amount of singing, rocking, or cuddling can get that little monster to settle down. I’m exhausted, and though it’ll be hard to say goodbye to Utah again, I’m looking forward to getting home.

Home.

I think of the little apartment where Levi and I live. It’s the same one Paige had when she first moved to Vancouver. Now that she’s living with Adam, she let me take over her lease. It’s the perfect size for me—not too big, but it has two bedrooms and a kitchen, living room, and bathroom. That’s all I need.

Being a homebody, you’d think I’d want more space since I’m either at work or at home, but I don’t. As long as things are comfortable, I’m satisfied. Though it would be nice to have a bit of a backyard for Levi.

Sometimes I feel bad that I don’t take him out more. When we lived here in Utah, he was so small and I was on my own. Not being a hiker or even outdoorsy to begin with, I had no interest in strapping my newborn on and walking all over the desert. Now that we live in Vancouver? It’s wet. And if it’s not wet? Well, it’s still outside. No thank you.

There’s a soft knock at the door and Paige hobbles over to get it. The race ended a couple days ago but she’s still sore and depleted. She opens it to find Adam standing there with his big doe eyes, leaning on the doorframe as if he can’t quite hold himself up yet.

It’ll take them a while to recover. Why she and Adam have so much fun absolutely destroying themselves—and pay significant money to do so—is beyond me. You’d never catch me out on a trail like that. Hell, the only time you’d catch me running is for the ice cream truck.

Or a Hemsworth brother.

And even then, I’d hate every second of it. Where my sister is an athlete, a runner, I am not. Her long legs were built for runningwhere my shorter, softer body was built for couch snuggling and spending hours on my feet in my lab. That’s about as much exercise as I get. Plus the hot yoga Paige and I do on Sundays.

“Hey, Leah,” Adam says as he tears his gaze away from my sister.

“Hey, how’re you feeling?”

“Better now.” A smile quirks his lips as his attention is drawn back to Paige. Like he couldn’t bear to have her out of his sight for even a few seconds. Without looking at me he asks, “Is it okay if I steal Paige away?”

I smile, having known this was coming since she barged in here to help me get Levi to bed. Those two are inseparable now, and she might have tried to convince me to have an old-fashioned sleepover, but I knew it wouldn’t last.

“Steal away.” I swing my arms, gesturing to my sister.

Paige turns to me and smiles, coming back over to tackle me to the bed in a big hug.

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