Page 72 of Let It Be Me
“Blue, I can’t. I have to get to practice.” I say and press kisses to her cheek and neck.
She unwinds her arms and relaxes back into the bed with her eyes still closed. “Fine.”
I kiss her on the forehead and eyelids, then leave the door cracked. God bless our schedule for not having a game these next two days. And when I pull up to the practice arena, we all look equal bits upset that we had to leave our beds and the women in them.
Weirdly, we all walk to the locker room at the same time. One of the vets pulls the handle to the room, but it doesn’t give.
“Are you guys sure we have practice today?” Noah asks us.
“Yeah. Coach told us after the game and texted us.” Carter, the vet, says.
A whistle from the opposite end of the hallway causes an almost comical sight from us. “This way boys.”
We all look at each other suspiciously before doing what Anderson says. All twenty-three pairs of feet shuffle the opposite direction of the locker room and ice, trailing after coach and the film room.
“I know you all were expecting to practice today. But my wife very sternly told me that you all deserved something less strenuous.”
“So we’re not practicing today?”
“Nope!” Coach says and stands up in the front of the film room.
“No offense coach, but I left a smoking hot girl in my bed for team bonding?” Max asks.
“Oh, great, we have our first volunteer. Gharety, up here.”
Logan snickers next to me and I have to bite my cheek to keep from laughing. Max drops his duffle where he’s at and walks up to the front.
“Since we’re not practicing,” we all grumble, groan, and suck our teeth. “I know I'm the worst. The front office has requested team holiday photos that they’ll post on socials today. After we’re done you all can head home and enjoy these next three days with your loved ones.”
One of the interns pulls out bins of overflowing holiday attire.
Anderson claps his hands together loud enough to make us jump. “Let’s get a move on, boys. I have two daughters and a wife ready to watch holiday movies and drink hot chocolate with.”
We all get into gear and find what we want. A red photobackdrop is set up on the far wall and one by one, we take our pictures. Several of them until the photographer says they have what they need.
“So, hot girl in your bed, huh?” Logan jokingly asks Max.
“Yes, and no you can’t join.”
Noah and I stop in our tracks and slowly turn to face them both. Not that we’re against sharing but this is the first time either of us have heard about them sharing.
“It was one time!” Max claims.
“Twice,” Logan corrects him.
“It’s always the quiet ones,” Noah says, referring to Logan.
“Well, happy holidays to you both,” I say appreciatively. “And may your balls get jingled.”
I turn and start my walk to my car with Noah falling in step. Logan’s groan is laughable but he and Max soon follow. We say our goodbyes and I peel out of the lot once my car is warmed up for more than ten seconds.
When I get back to the condo, I realize I’ve only been gone for about an hour and hopefully Sarah is awake and ready to eat. The girls circle my feet when I walk back in and it’s clear that my girl is in fact still in bed. After feeding them, I head back to our room and strip out of my street clothes and down to my boxers before climbing back under the covers to cuddle with my girl.
I wake back upwith a human-size weight resting on top of me. Since we were set to have practice at an ungodly early hour, I glance over at the clock and see it’s not even noon so it’s the perfect time to start brunch.
Sarah’s fingers are teasing the tattoos on my side and I wrap my arms around her.
“Max and Logan have shared before,” I say and her tracing halts its repeated pattern.
