Page 54 of Let It Be Me
Swoon. “You’re going to be a great boost for my ego,” I tell him.
“I hope that’s not all I’ll be good for.” He says and pulls me into his lap.
I rest my arm around the back of his chair and play with his hair. “It’s one of the many things I’m sure you’ll be good for.” He pinches my thigh and I swat at his hand. “How are you planning to tell your friends?”
“Well, they’ve been referring to you as the “hot redhead from the charity gala”, but I think they’ll be not as surprised as I hope.”
“I do like that nickname,” I preen and squirm as Riley tickles my sides. “What are their names?”
“There's Logan, Noah, and Max. Logan and I moved up at the same time in the league. So when we got drafted by Columbus, it took us about a day to mesh together on the ice. Noah and Max were in the same draft class as us, so we all kind of stuck together.”
“Speaking of, when do you have to head home?” It’s weird that I’ll already miss him and I'm quite literally in his lap.
“Later today. I have an early pilates class and then practice later in the afternoon.”
“I guess I am reaping all the benefits of your pilates classes.” I say as I run my hands down his firm arms and to his forearms.
His teeth are bared as a smile takes up his face and then fades just as quickly.
“What’s wrong?” I ask and my eyes travel all over his face looking for something.
“I’m just wondering how this is going to work. Season is about to get underway and you live here. I’ll be lucky to make it down here between training and games.”
“I’ll split part-time between here and Columbus. I’ll take a look at your schedule and during the home games I’ll stay with you and the away games I’ll come back here.”
He nods as he considers what I’m saying. “Okay. Look at us figuring out a plan.”
I silently laugh. Riley and I spend the rest of the morning talking about life. Hypothetical scenarios that run through our heads, dream vacation spots, local hidden gemsthat we promise to take each other to, and our hope that this thing between us can work. He makes me laugh. Which is a foreign feeling in a relationship. And it’s not my fake laugh. It’s the laughter that leaves my stomach sore in the best possible way.
But I don’t get my hopes too far up. Love is still something I’m terrified about. Although a simple thing like trying with Riley gives me hope.
20
RILEY
Itap my stick on the ice and wait for Max to pass the puck. The defender of the other team turns his head for a blink and by the time he’s refocused, Max is passing the puck to me. I hear the roar of the crowd as I manage to hold possession of the puck and dodge the opposing team. Noah manages to get my attention and I look up in time to pass the puck to him. When he gets the puck, he’s swarmed by the other team and I slide in to help him out of the hole.
“Back off Petrov.” I snarl as I slam him into the boards.
“In your dreams, Jones.” He says and slams me back.
I manage to stay upright and push him back. Noah finds an opening out of the cluster and rounds back to find an opening at the net. Victor turns his fire eyes on me and I duck out of his reach before he can swing on me. I like a fight when it’s necessary. But he tends to take it further than need be. I put myself into gear and get back to the middle of the ice and wait for the buzzer to sound from Noah’s goal. He’s good and our top scorer. Our left winger gets my attention and we both nod.
I look up at the play clock and see less than thirtyseconds and we’re up by one. If Noah can score this and our defense holds them off, we keep the streak alive. Bear and I push our way through the cluster to allow Noah a breakaway to score. Their goalie is good, but Noah is better. He looks to the top right of the goal and plays the goalie by shooting to the bottom left. The buzzer goes off, the crowd goes wild, and Bear and I tackle Noah.
“Fuck, yeah Birdy!” I scream into his face and knock on his helmet a couple of times before skating over to Logan and hyping up the rest of the line and the crowd. With Noah’s goal we’ve got the cushion to not worry about New York rushing their play. We line back up and Noah faces off. He wins and passes the puck back to Logan who then passes it off to Bear as he loops around the net.
I start my slow skate around our half of the rink and make my way to the bench when the buzzer sounds. We all make our way to the tunnel and head to the locker rooms. Fans clamor for attention and girls call for us to sign any body part we can get our hands on. Their words, not mine. Plus, I already have everything I want waiting for me in the family and friends box.
Max’s boisterous voice travels down the hall before he’s like an energizer bunny bouncing into the locker room. My skates are already in my locker and I’m in the process of taking my jersey off to head to the showers.
“We’re getting lit tonight boys!” Max exclaims as he has his phone's flashlight waving around in the air. The team either groans or eggs him on.
“Gharety!” Coach Anderson barks.
Max yelps and scrambles off the bench. “Yes, Coach.”Kiss ass.The rest of us snicker at Max’s change in voice.
“Shouldn’t you be with the athletic trainers?”
