Page 8 of Wanting the Winger

She grins.“Yeah.I’ll have a salad for lunch.Promise.With protein.”

After slinging her enormous bag over her shoulder, she blows me a kiss and leaves through the door that connects the kitchen to the garage.

I sigh heavily, then take a sip of my tea.That was really fucking...domesticated.Add a kiss and an ass slap at the end and we could’ve been a couple.I don’t know what to do with that, because I’m not a domesticated guy.

My home isn’t open to women I sleep with.And I don’t expect to go to their homes, either, but I have before if that’s what worked best.If I want to spend the night with a woman and I know about it ahead of time, I book a nice hotel room.

Lainey isn’t one of those women, though.She’s...Lainey.Eric’s sister.She’s like family.

I shake it off, walking over to the fridge to get out some eggs and juice.Carter, Leo and I have leg day with our trainer, Ollie, today.I need to get fueled up and mentally set for it.

Leo sprints about four yards,then jerks to a halt, dropping to his hands and lying face down in the grass, then bounces back up and jumps high in the air.

I follow, not wasting any energy on bitching, though I want to.Leo’s a grinder, and he’s a beast of one.He’s not a polished player who just fires goal after goal into the net, like Carter.He’s the workhorse of the first offensive line, and he’s in the best shape of anyone on our team.Leo uses his imposing size, strength and speed to disrupt our opponents.

He checks.He forechecks.He boards.Leo is the most relentless grinder I’ve ever played with, and he’s arguably the most important member of the line he, Carter and I make up.

His aggression is what keeps Leo’s spot on our team secure, and he stays sharp.He may not score a ton of goals, but he makes opportunities for me and Carter to.

His physicality makes him the worst person to be behind in mirror drills.We’re on the football-field-sized grass area outside our team’s training facility, and I drew the short straw in this round of drills.

Carter is mirroring Ollie on the other side of the field.Ollie focuses entirely on speed.He stops, starts, and dodges to the side, Carter repeating every movement from about ten feet behind him.

Leo, though, won’t just do a typical hockey mirror drill.He adds karate kicks, push-ups, hurdles, burpees and even the occasional backflip.

By the time he turns around and backflips across the finish line, I’m practically wheezing.I shake my head, unwilling to risk hurting myself with a backflip when I’m this gassed.

“Did you keep up?”Leo asks me, grinning.

I flip him off.

“We’ll switch leaders after you guys get a drink,” Ollie says.

My breathing has returned to normal by the time I get over to the bench where our water bottles are.I swipe mine and take a long swig from it.

“How was the cookout last night?”I ask.

“Yeah, how was it, Leo?”Carter scowls at him.

Leo shrugs.“Fine.The steaks were killer.”

Carter rolls his eyes.“I thought Mara might actually punch you.”

He shrugs.“She’s a loose cannon.”

“Because you intentionally bait her.”

“She makes it too easy.”

Carter shakes his head and turns to me.“How was dinner with Lainey?”

“Good.”

Leo screws the cap back on his water bottle and stretches into a lunge.“How many times did you criticize her fiancé?”

“Only twice.I was feeling reserved.”

“How was it seeing her?”Carter asks.

---