Page 38 of Hooking the Captain
Standingin front of Coop’s penthouse apartment in the West End area of Boston, I knocked lightly on the door. My first day on the job had taken a lot out of me, and I could have probably fallen asleep standing up, but nothing would keep me from seeing him.
A few seconds later the door swung open.
“Hey, baby,” Coop greeted and stepped aside so I could enter.
“Hey.” It had been a few days since we’d seen each other, but it felt like an eternity.
Before I could tell him how much I’d missed him, he pulled me close and captured my lips with his. The exhaustion I’d been feeling melted away, and I suddenly felt energized by his kiss.
Eventually he moved back and smiled brightly. “I’ve been looking forward to doing that again.”
“Is that all you’ve been looking forward to?” I waggled my eyebrows.
He shook his head and laughed. “Let’s eat first, then we can talk about everything I want to do to you.”
“You made food?”
“No.” He grabbed my hand and dragged me toward the kitchen. “But I did order pizza. It got here five minutes before you did.”
My stomach growled at the mention of pizza. “Great. I’m starving.”
He pulled down two plates from the cabinet and passed one to me. “Do you want a beer?”
“Please.”
With our pizza and drinks in hand, Coop led me to the living room, which was lit only by the setting sun as it shined through the large windows overlooking the Charles River.
“How was your first day?” he asked as he took a seat on the large leather couch in the middle of the room.
Sitting next to him, I replied, “It was intense, but good. There’s a lot to learn.”
“I’m sure you’ll do great.”
I smiled and nodded. “What about you? How did your training go?”
He let out a sigh. “Let’s just say, I’m glad I came back when I did. Switching gears to get ready for the season isn’t easy.”
“Speaking of the upcoming season….” I put my plate of pizza on the coffee table. “How does all the hockey stuff work? How long are you away from home?” We hadn’t talked about that part of his job because it had seemed so far off, but since we were making the switch from vacation mode, I was curious how much time we’d have together.
He sighed and put his plate down too. “It depends. We average three games a week, but even that can vary. Sometimes, I’m on the road for a week, but other times, we play here for a few games in a row.”
“Sounds like it’s going to be hard to find time together, but I’m willing to make it work if you are.”
Coop rested his hand on my thigh. “Of course, I’m willing to make it work. I thought I’d been clear about that.”
I took a sip of my beer. “You have, but we haven’t talked aboutusyet.”
He cocked his head to the side. “What do you mean?”
I placed my bottle on the coffee table and shifted to face him. “The talk about what this is between us.”
He raised an eyebrow. “We’re dating, aren’t we?”
“Yeah, but we never put a label on things.”
His hand slid up my thigh. “What kind of label do you want?”
I leaned my head back on the couch and looked at him. “I want to be your boyfriend, and I want us to be an official couple. I know our relationship has to remain a secret, but I want us to know we belong to each other.”
