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“Yeah, she’s amazing. Treats me like I’m her grown child, which come to think of it, I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad one. But you’ll love her when you get to meet her, I’m sure you’ll hit it off.”

“I’m sure we will.” She lets out a sigh that sounds a lot like content. “Hey, Silas?”

“Yeah, Minnie?”

“Did you really think I wouldn’t call?” Sadness laces her voice as she speaks.

“I was afraid maybe I misinterpreted how last night ended...” I tell her truthfully. I’ve never wanted to be vulnerable with anyone in my life. That is, until her.

“You didn’t.”

CECILIA

“You didn’t,” I tell him sincerely.

Yesterday was magical, every moment spent with Silas was inconceivable.

I’ve never met someone who could make me genuinely laugh and smile so much, someone who could make me feel the way he does.

I never wanted the night to end, it was like a physical pull drawing me to him.

One so strong I can feel it through my phone.

He lets out a breath. “Good, I’m glad.”

“Me too,” I say, biting my lip. “How was your practice?” I ask, not knowing where to take this conversation, but not wanting it to end either.

His laugh filters through the speaker, loud and husky. It sends a bolt of electricity throughout my body. “Yeah, let’s not touch that subject.”

I can hear the sound of utensils scuffing against ceramic, followed by chewing before a satisfied moan falls from his lips.

Warmth spreads in my lower belly at the sound as my mind wanders onto restricted territories.

Wondering how different he would sound if I were the one causing those moans.

NO. Don’t go there, Cecilia. Control yourself.

I focus back on the conversation. What were we talking about? Oh right, practice. “That bad, huh?”

“Let’s just say Coach was not happy with me. I swear, at one point I thought he was about to skate over and beat me with my own stick,” he laughs again. I love his laugh. I could listen to it all day.

“Why? What did you do?” I ask confused. From what I was told by my colleagues, he’s an amazing player, one of the greatest.

“Well, it seems my focus was off. I’m guessing it had something to do with spending the night thinking about a little mouse.”

I bite my lip and close my eyes. I can feel the heat on my cheeks rising as I lie over my queen-size mattress. After leaving Emma in the kitchen, I went off to my room and took a quick shower. Which gave me enough time to settle my thoughts regarding the surprise present from Silas.

Once done, I decided to forgo clothes and only dressed in a simple set of lingerie, covered up by my plush white robe. Then I settled onto my back over the comforter of my bed.

I feel like I’m back in high school, talking to my crush over the phone. And yet this feels like more. “Hmm, it must be contagious,” I tell him playfully.

The belt of my robe breaks free, letting it slip open, exposing my body to the cool air circulating the room. I place a hand over my belly, trying to control my nerves.

“Oh yeah?” he asks with a flirty note.

The hand resting above my stomach begins to trace circles along my abdomen of its own accord, my body responding to the tone of his voice.

“Mhmm. Because you see, I wasn’t very focused at work today, either. My mind kept circling back to this Big Guy I met not too long ago,” I say alluringly.

I hear his faint chuckle before he demands, “Hmm, interesting. Why don’t you tell me more about this ‘Big Guy’ that was occupying your thoughts?”

The tip of my middle finger trails up my stomach between the valley of my covered breasts. Then it runs its course over my collarbone, gently going back and forth. My breath deepens, causing the rise and fall of my chest as I think about the man in question.

“Well... he’s very sweet and kind, thoughtful too. A real charmer with this amazing smile and a beautiful laugh. He makes me laugh a lot, although he tends to be a bit full of himself. But I guess that just adds to his charm.”

“Keep going.” I can feel his smile through the phone.

“He’s tall, oh so very tall. Dark hair, green eyes. Large hands and wide shoulders. Muscular biceps... mmm, those muscles.”

Our conversation is quickly derailing, going in a direction it probably shouldn’t. My thighs squeeze together, trying to alleviate the pressure building between them. My hand now draws over the slope of my breast.

He’s quiet, but I can hear the distinctive intake and output of air as he breathes hard through his nose, clearly affected by my words and the seductive tone I’ve taken on.

“Sometimes, I wonder what they would look like if they were—”

The door to my room swings open at that exact moment, making me jump and rush to cover myself, my train of thought instantly evaporating.

Emma stands in the doorway with her hands crossed over her chest and an evil smirk on her face. “Well, well, well. What do we have here? Am I perhaps interrupting some... naughty time?”

“WHAT THE FUCK, EM?” I shout, dropping the phone onto the cover. I make out Silas’s distant voice asking if everything is okay, but I’m too disturbed by the scenario playing out in front of me to reply.

Emma sees the phone and lunges for it before I have time to react. She holds it in her hand and stands back up, tapping on the screen and transferring the call to speakerphone. “Hello? Minnie, you there?” Silas asks, sounding concerned.

“Hi there!” she says, overly cheerful. “This is Cecilia’s best friend, nice to meet you. Mind filling me in on what was going on here?” she asks, straight to the point. I groan into my hands and rub my reddened cheeks.

Silas takes a beat to answer, obvious confusion in his voice. “I’m not sure I follow.”

The look she gives me when she realizes he was unaware of my state is filled with mischief. “Okay, well, here’s the thing. When I walked in here—”

“Barged in—” I cut her off. “Not walked in, you barged in here,” I emphasize the word, hoping to make my point clear.

She brushes me off with the flap of her hand. “Semantics. What I was saying before I was rudely interrupted, was that when I walked in...” She narrows her eyes my way. “My girl here was in quite the state of undress with wandering hands.”

If I thought I couldn’t blush any harder, I was greatly mistaken. I grab a pillow and bury my face into it, wishing the ground would swallow me whole.

He hums pensively in response before declaring something I never thought he’d say. “There’s only one thing about that sentence that I don’t like.”

“Which is?” she asks, furrowing her brows in question, probably running through the words she spoke in her head.

“The part where you called her yours,” he answers simply.

My head pops up from where it was buried, and I find a slack-jawed Emma staring at me.

Silas’s laugh rings through the phone. “Have I rendered you both speechless?”

“Yup, pretty much,” Emma says, bobbing her head and shrugging a shoulder. “How are you this perfect?”

“Oh God! Please stop,” I beg.

“Just one of my many traits,” he says with amusement.

“Okay, that’s enough! Hand me back the phone,” I announce, rising to my knees and extending my hand.

She holds the phone closer to her in one hand while smacking mine away with the other. “Wait! I only have one more question before I go.”

“Shoot.”

“What are your plans with my girl?” she asks, highlighting the word ‘my’ as she says it. She places her free hand on her hip as the other holds the phone in the air in front of her, waiting for his response

“Well, I was actually wondering if Cecilia was free tomorrow?” he asks, a bit of nerves showing through.

“She is,” Emma answers for me. I swear they’ve forgotten I’m even here. I kneel back onto my calves and chew my lower lip as I wait to see what he might say.

“Good, then I’ll be picking her up at five.”

“Alright well, my job here is done. Silas, it was nice chatting with you. Cece, food’s ready, but you know... take all the time you need,” she says with a wink as she passes me my phone and turns for the door.

“Actually, why don’t you go eat, sweetheart, and we’ll talk later?” he tells me.

“Yeah, okay. I’d like that.” My smile grows as I bite my lip.

“Good.”

“Bye, Silas,” I whisper.

“Bye, Minnie.”