Page 9

THEO

INDIE: See you after practice. Hope you have enough Sharpie markers ready, #HockeyDaddy

“ L isten, I’m all for finding true love,” Jax said as I grabbed my water bottle, spraying ice as I stopped. “But, when did the whole help out morph into nanny morph into secret girlfriend morph into you wanting to ask her to marry you?”

As Alternate to his Captain, Jaxon Hunter and I had a special kind of relationship.

And he was dating Nia, Indie’s cousin and business partner in BB&L.Plus, Nia’s girls were a huge reason Travis smiled more and more lately.

Lying to him sucked, but the less people who knew about the entire Indie thing, the better.

Especially since Noah gossiped worse than anyone I knew.

I shrugged, tracking Miles as he defended on the ice. Fuck, the guy was a beast. Wolf suited him. And if anything got past him, Noah was a wall. Even if he was a bit off in the head. But most goalies were. “We’ve known each other since we were kids.”

He nodded. “Nia said you guys had history.”

“Her brother is one of my best friends, though I haven’t talked to Isaac much lately. Fucker is off doing God knows what with that damn security firm he joined after getting out of the Army.”

Jax swiped his glove along the top on the wall. “Takes balls to date your best friend’s little sister, let alone have her move in with you. But, I guess she’s been at your place almost as much as she’s been at her place, taking care of Travis.”

The night the nanny I’d hired a few months ago had to leave the state due to a family emergency.

Indie stepped up within an hour, picked my son up from my house, and brought him to the game that night without skipping a beat.

And ever since then, she’d been picking up the slack better than any nanny I’d hired besides Laney.

Nia took him some days, too, and I didn’t know what I would’ve done without them.

“Yeah, it kind of just…happened.”

He skated backwards as we switched up lines for the drill. “Engagement happened?” He shook his head in wonder. “Guess when you know, you know. Hope Indra says yes.” Jax skated off, whaling pucks at the net, one after another.

Me, too. If there was one thing I’ve learned about the grown-up Indie, it’s that she rarely does what I think she’ll do.

Like agreeing to marry me. But when she ended up losing her apartment and needed a place to stay, the logical option was moving in with me.

Between Travis, the ‘fake’ relationship status, and proximity to Book Boyfriends & Lattes, it made sense.

I planted the seeds about asking her to marry me, since it would seem less believable if I wasn’t sharing my ‘relationship’ with Indie with the guys.

In practice, though? Pretty sure Indie was going to be…very Indie. The very thought of my best friend’s little sister, wondering around my house, in her fishnets and combat boots, sexy as fuck and equally defiant as fuck, was enough to drive me insane.

With what exactly I wasn’t sure. But regardless, I had points and goals to score. And a playoff berth to secure.

Coach blew the whistle, and Jax’s line skated in, and we bumped gloves as my line took the ice.

“Hockey Daddy is on the ice!” Yelled our goalie from the crease with a shit-eating grin.

“Seriously, LeCav,” I yelled as the guys chuckled and chirped along with him.

“Less chirping, more work,” Coach Brett barked from the sidelines. But he shot a grin at me when Noah whacked the pipes with his stick. “Unless you’d like to propose to someone, Gerard?”

“Nah, Coach. No one here is up to my standards.”

The guys on the ice twittered about that one, banging their sticks on the boards and ice, depending where they were. The sharp bleat of the whistle shut everyone up. “Since no one is getting engaged at practice, let’s get back to business. Again!”

The next forty-five minutes were pure torture in the form of Noah and Jax, with Coach barking at us to concentrate.

Which in and of itself was hilarious considering he kept sneaking glances at his girlfriend, Miles’ little sister and Noah’s other BFF.

Zoe came in twice and waved her fingers at him.

But no one said a word, not wanting extra sprints added on at the end of practice.

“Seriously, I had no idea you and Indie were dating. E never said a word,” Noah said as he lumbered down the tunnel beside me.

I shrugged. “Yeah, kinda just happened.” The locker room buzzed with excitement over tomorrow night’s game against Seattle.

Which would also be the public debut of Indie and Theo since she posted a picture of us holding hands in front of the bookstore yesterday.

The entire time she glared at me, and taunted me with all the ways she was going to take over my place.

The movers I hired were packing her apartment up this weekend, and by Monday, Travis and I would have a new roommate.

When we told him Indie was moving in with us to make things easier until she found a new place to live in a few months, he’d smiled so big.

I decided all the torture she planned on inflicting would be worth it.

When she said that people would be calling her my girlfriend, he giggled. “She is. A girl. And your friend, daddy.”

Fuck, that kid melted me. Every day.

I pulled into the garage thirty minutes later, and sat in the car for a moment.

Indie insisted on takeout for dinner tonight, ‘to kick things off’ and I was fully prepared for an insane amount of whatever place she decided on over ordering from.

But when I walked into the kitchen, there were only white a few Chinese takeout cartons scattered all over the island.

A pink bakery box. And a bottle of wine next to a huge jug of lemonade.

Travis was at the counter opposite Indie, who wore her requisite fishnets and oversized sweatshirt that hung off one shoulder layered over jeans that had more holes than actual material.

They were singing along to the Lego Batman soundtrack as it played over the smart speaker.

Indie had her back turned as she reached into one of the upper cabinets and pulled out dishes.

A sliver of her back peeked out from under the black shirt as she strained, and it reminded me how her skin glowed in the moonlight that night.

My fist clenched and I was just about to say something when she turned, plates in hand, and paused mid-lyric.

“Daddy’s home!” Travis said, with so much enthusiasm that I couldn’t help but grin at him.

“Hi, Daddy ,” Indie said saucily, a smirk on her face. I froze, but she continued to give me a look that told me she knew exactly what she just called me. “I hope you're hungry.”

“Daddy, Indie ordered me my own carton of sticky rice. She said it was all for me. And orange chicken, but I have to share that, since it’s her favorite.”

I nodded solemnly. “Sharing is good, buddy. How was school?” As Travis proceeded to tell me about his day, I nodded and made the appropriate sounds of approval. But my mind was on Indie. What she called me.

And the fact she would be across the hall from me tonight, sleeping, wearing God knows what, and maybe even touching herself before she fell asleep.

“And then she said I could pick the next book, and I told her I knew someone who owned a bookstore who could help me. My daddy’s girlfriend!”

The last word woke me out of my trance, and I tore my gaze away from Indie, who was ignoring me as she made a plate for Travis, but kept his rice in its own carton.

“You told who what?”

Travis opened the carton, and took a mouthful of rice before answering, tiny pieces falling out as he mumbled. “My teacher. I get to pick the next reading circle book, and I told her Indie was going to help me.”

Indie laughed, and ruffled his hair. “Maybe not from my bookstore, but we can go to the other one and find one.”

My son wrinkled his nose. “Yeah, maybe no kissing for now?”

I nodded. “Definitely no kissing.”

Indie smirked, and handed me a plate. “No kissing for Daddy, huh?”

I nearly growled, but took the plate. “Oh, there’ll be kissing.”

“Yeah, daddies need kisses or they get sad.” Travis said, oblivious to the way Indie’s lips twitched.

“Or mad.”

“Maybe you're like the Hulk, huh Daddy? But, he’s not as cool as Batman. He has the best toys.”

“Toys, huh?” Indie said, playing with her carton of rice as she watched me with a wicked grin.

“All kinds of toys,” Travis said as he dug into his food with just enough of a smile that my gut twisted, knowing how far he’d come since coming to live with me.

She canted her head, chewing thoughtfully. “I don’t know Trav. There are a lo t of toys in the house right now.” Her eyes

Travis paused, and asked, eyes wide, “Do you like to play with toys, Indie?”

She laughed, a wicked gleam in her eyes as he ruffled his hair without a word, then smirked at me with challenge in her eyes.

Fuck. Me.

There was no way I’d sleep through the night now.

Stop thinking about Indie using a toy. In fact stop fucking thinking about Indie, period.

My dick, unfortunately, decided to ignore me for the past two hours. After I put Trav to bed, who insisted that Indie read him Goodnight Goon, twice, while we both laid next to him, I said goodnight with every intention of sleeping and not thinking about a fucking thing.

Best laid plans. Fuck my life. Sleep? Not happening. Not after Indie pulled that little toy stunt. My dick had a fucking overactive imagination, and as much as I kept telling myself it was wrong, I couldn’t stop myself from thinking about what type of toys Indie owned. Used. Got off with.

Was she loud, or did she bite her lip so no one would hear?

Part her lips as she gasped, holding it in as she furrowed her brow?

Moan, whimper? How did Indie fall apart?

My dick twitched, straining against the athletic shorts I wore to bed, the head pushing and straining against the waistband like it knew she was just across the hall from me.

She was probably asleep, happily dreaming up ways to mess with me and add on more stipulations to her damn demands.

Fucking minx.

Ten more minutes of tossing and turning, and imagining what Indie was or wasn’t doing later, my hard-on raged like an angry asshole who didn’t give a fuck anymore.

I growled, and flipped the blanket off as I swung my legs to the edge of the bed and sat up.

A hand roughed over my jaw, and I glared at my door.

Fuck it. Maybe water would help. Or a fucking cold shower if worse came to worse.

I didn’t bother throwing on a shirt as I opened the door and glanced down the hallway towards Trav’s room.

No sound. I stepped out into the hallway, careful to avoid the spot that creaked.

I discovered it the first night Travis slept in his room, terrified the noise would wake him and had avoided it ever since.

But, that also meant stepping closer to Indie’s door.

Which wasn’t completely closed.

It was the smallest sliver, but the door was definitely ajar. And Indie was definitely not asleep, if the rustling and…moaning?...coming from inside her room was any indication. I swallowed thickly, as the other part of me took over thinking and all logic vacated my brain in a rush.

Moaning. Indie was moaning inside her room. Furtively glancing both ways, like someone was going to catch me creeping like some stalker, I stepped closer to her door, careful not to touch it or make a sound. The last thing I needed was Indie finding me outside her door.

She might hate me now, but if she knew I had a hard-on and was eavesdropping on her?

World War status.

“Oh God.”

Fuck, she was awake. And doing…god knows what.

No, not God. Because I knew exactly what she was doing. Indie was nothing if not a girl of her word. And she promised, with every look tonight, what she was going to do with her toys .

I leaned in, ear to the door, and listened. There it was, low but yep…

Bzzzzzz

A gentle buzz. A vibration, followed by another moan, and a gasp. Rustling of fabric. Another moan, followed by a whispered fuuuuck . Indie was getting off just on the other side of the door. In a bed I owned. In my house.

And she hated me. I shouldn’t be standing outside her door, but I couldn’t bring myself to walk away. Not yet. She might hate me, and God knows she got under my skin like nobody else. I needed to stay away, but then again, I needed her.

For Travis, and his future. Because the world still saw a fuck boy with an attitude, no matter how many romance novels I posted about, or how many events I volunteered at.

Because a girl with tits always showed up and asked me to sign them, and then threw herself at me.

And since everyone had a fucking phone, that was what got the attention.

Not the good stuff, though the romance thing plus becoming a dad were a start.

“Mmm,” Indie whimpered, and her breathing became louder and louder, the rustling more frantic, picking up pace.

Holy shit, Indie was getting off. Right now. My cock grew painfully hard, and I cupped it over my shorts, the head peeking out the top of the waistband. Leaking and pissed because it wanted inside her. Now.

Not happening, big guy. Nope.

Her cries became louder, but not loud enough that if I wasn’t standing outside her door, I would have heard them.

Like say, from my room, where I should fucking be and not creeping and getting ready to come in my fucking shorts without even touching myself.

Thinking about her, and what she was doing.

About walking in on her, knowing she wouldn't stop, glaring at me with that fire in her eyes until she finished. Not letting me touch her.

And with that thought combined with the sound of Indie coming only feet away from me, I come in my shorts like a fucking teenager.

No regrets.