Page 34 of Playoff
If Mom ever found out I’d slept with him…
He wasn’t going to brag about his hookup in the locker room. Justin would freak out, and the other guys on the team would be upset about breaking the sister code. That sister code was sexist bullshit. If I’d wanted to date one of Justin’s teammates, I’d have pushed back on that, but I’d never been interested. We’d had an unspoken agreement—he didn’t date my friends and I didn’t date his teammates. But the way he’d drawn in on himself the last five years? I’d be happy if he was involved with anyone. Unfortunately, my friends in the city were already spoken for, and the women in my book club were either partnered or totally wrong for him.
I hit go on the website to book my last-minute airplane tickets. The Blaze jet was flying out tomorrow morning, and I could catch a ride to the airport with Justin. My flight was a couple hours later, but I didn’t fly private, so would have to deal with check-in and security, which would eat up the extra time.
I just needed to pack enough clothing and toiletries for the trip and I’d be ready to go. My luggage was down in the storage locker, along with some of the clothes I wanted. According to the weather app, it was about ten degrees Celsius warmer in Vancouver right now and predicted to rain the whole time I was there. I picked up the keys for the locker door so I could get my bag and rain gear that I’d put away last fall. I wanted everything ready before I went to bed.
“I’m going down to the locker,” I called to Justin as I walked to the door.
“Get your flight booked?”
“Just did.”
“Tell Grandma we’ll be there next month.”
Grandma wasn’t supposed to be that cognitive now, but I’d pass on the message. Some people thought she was still aware, even if she couldn’t respond. And on the off chance, I’d do it.
I picked up a flashlight before leaving the condo. The storage lockers could be a little creepy at night. People had some weird stuff in those cages, and the shadows looked…well, creepy. This was a safe building, with enough security to keep determined hockey fans out, so I didn’t really think there’d be any problems, but… I should keep my imagination in check. I hit the button for the first subfloor and leaned on the side of the elevator.
Two floors down the car stopped and the doors slid open. I froze. The moment I’d been dreading (mostly) had finally happened. My hookup was there, wearing sweats that clung lovingly to his thighs and a long-sleeved T-shirt stretching against his arms, covering the tattoos. Well, arm. I could only see one, along with part of his face. The rest of him, including his chest, was hidden behind a surfboard.
My mouth dropped open. A surfboard? In Toronto? In January?
He paused as well, eyes running over me head to toe before he stepped inside, moving the board through the doors easily. He turned to look at the floor indicator but didn’t hit a button as the doors slid closed and we started to descend.
I cleared my throat. “Do you want me to hit a floor number for you?” Though where he’d be going with a surfboard was beyond me.
He nodded his head at the one lit button. “That’s where the storage lockers are, right?”
Damn it. He was going there too? “Yeah.”
He shrugged. “Not like I’m doing anything with this anytime soon.”
I couldn’t help myself. “Why do you have a surfboard?”
He smirked. “To surf.”
I rolled my eyes. “Not in Toronto.”
“They sent all my stuff from LA. I didn’t have time to sort things out before I had to catch the flight here.”
That made sense. “So you surf—when you’re in California.”
A real smile crossed his face. “Yeah. Whenever I can.”
“Is the team okay with that?” I knew there were some risky activities athletes weren’t supposed to do while they were under contract.
He shrugged. So, a risk-taker. Just another reason to put that night behind me. Where it was, obviously. The doors dinged for the storage level, and he stood back to let me exit first.
I walked ahead, too aware of him behind me. I knew he was staring at my ass. Of course, this had to be the time I went out wearing a ratty old pair of yoga pants. I rolled my eyes at myself. No, it was good that I was. I looked over my shoulder and caught him.
He shrugged again, unrepentant. I kept walking, since I didn’t have a lot of options. I heard the sound of metal rattling, so he must have found the door for the locker he was sharing with Fitch.
Ours was farther back. I stuck the key in the door and pulled it open. Justin had some golf clubs and a bike in one corner. Shelves across from that held our luggage and some bins of off-season clothing. Mine. Justin didn’t have a lot and kept his in his closet year-round.
I pulled out my suitcase and opened it, setting it on the floor. Then I grabbed the labeled bin and picked out my raincoat and waterproof boots. I looked through what else I had in there and grabbed a fold-up umbrella as well.
That should do. I zipped up the suitcase with the rain gear inside and put the bin back on the shelf. I turned and jumped. Denny had managed to get to the doorway without making a sound. I held a hand to my chest, breathing deep. “This place is spooky enough without you sneaking up on me.”
