Page 48 of Puck with Karma
He drops a kiss on my neck before taking a step back to start the water in the shower.
“Practice,” he informs me very matter of factly. It is obvious that naked time is over, and he has now moved on to something else.
“You have practice in the middle of the night?” I feel disoriented, unsure of what time it is, but I know for sure it’s not morning yet.
“I usually start earlier with a run,” Xander tells me. “That helps me with the warm-up before I get on ice.”
I shake my head as if to clear it. “What time is it?”
“Close to six. I need to hurry.”
I suddenly remember his talk about early morning wood.
“Six?!”
I shove my hands in my hair, panic setting in once again.
“I’m supposed to be there at seven fifteen!”
Xander turns around to look at me. He slaps me on the ass and winks.
“You better get to it, babe.”
Chapter 16
Abby
I hate rushing in general. Rushing to get to work on time is a whole new level of insanity for me.
“Oh my god,” I mutter under my breath as I pull a top over my head. “This is the second morning in a row that I’m going to be running in at the very last possible second.”
“Eh, so what,” Xander shrugs from the doorway to the bathroom. “It’s a job, not a life or death situation.”
I roll my eyes and try to walk around him. The space we have to work with is so small, I feel like I can’t breathe. When he grabs me by the hips, I almost push him off, but he is too fast. His mouth drops on mine for a hard kiss that is over before I can even process it.
“I don’t have time for this, Xander.” I try to sound stern, but my voice comes out weak.
He doesn’t say anything, just watches me with shrewd eyes.
“It’s been fun for the last couple of days.”
I smile and look away. It has been a lot of fun in a lot of ways. I honestly didn’t expect him to come back after the first nightconsidering the cramped quarters we’re in. But when he came back last night, my heart squeezed in my chest, reminding me that he could break my heart so easily.
“I’ll be back tonight,” Xander says after a moment of awkward silence. “If I’m not too tired from practice,” he makes sure to add. “If I’m not here by the time you go to bed, I’ll crash on the couch at my place.”
“Sounds good.”
My smile is tight, but he doesn’t call me out on it. Shaking off my feeling of weirdness, I turn and rush to get dressed.
“My new boss is not very flexible with time management.” I start talking at random as I pull my dress pants on. “It’s like she runs a military camp,” I chuckle. “But it’s not all bad. I just wish I was a bit more punctual.”
“You’re one of those kinds of people, huh?” Xander grins at me from the doorway.
“What kind is that?”
“The kind that thinks that being on time is being late,” he teases.
I roll my eyes and shake my head, finally finished with my attire for the day. My hair is in a bun as I try to hide the spot where my extension is missing.
