Page 40

FORTY

RILEY

Puck Kings

Easy E

If u could be any animal, what would u be?

Sully

Something that helps you leanr to spell. How hard is it to spell out the word you? It’s two more letters than what you’re doing now.

G-Money

Ooooh, Goalie Daddy spelled a word wrong!!! Shame!!!

Mavvy

Don’t poke the bear, Grant. You don’t want to be on the receiving end of his wrath!

G-Money

Hush, Cap. We have a celebrity in our midst. Mitchy’s been everywhere on Instagram and TikTok!!

Me

I have?

G-Money

Mhm. The girls loveeeeee you. Especially your slutty little glasses.

Me

They aren’t slutty. I need them to see.

Easy E

They’ve ALWAYS been slutty glasses.

Mavvy

He’s going to develop an ego. But he’s cute so it’s deserved!!!

Huddy Boy

Who? Riley? He’s the humblest guy I know.

Me

Okay. We don’t need to make this conversation about me. In fact, I would prefer it if we didn’t.

Sully

Has anyone thought about shutting this godforsaken chat down for a day? Or a fucking year?

Mavvy

Nope. You’re required to be in it. Captain’s orders.

Sully

Fuck your captain’s orders.

G-Money

How is there not a line of women at your door, Mitchy? My god. I think even I’m attracted to you.

Mavvy

I really don’t like losing the top spot on the team.

Huddy Boy

You’ll get over it.

* * *

There’s not a line of women at my door, but there is a knock at six thirty in the evening that confuses the hell out of me.

It’s not a book club night. Team dinner isn’t until tomorrow. None of the guys said they were stopping by, and thanks to two great back-to-back performances, Coach gave everyone the full day off.

Frowning, I push back from the bar stool I’ve been sitting on for the better part of an hour answering emails. I pad across the kitchen floor and into the foyer, smiling when I see Lexi on the other side of the door.

“Well”—I lean against the frame and cross my arms over my chest—“this is a nice surprise. To what do I owe the pleasure, Lex? Do you want me to put my head between your legs?”

“Tempting.” Her grin is intoxicating and addictive. I could stare at her mouth for hours. I probably already do. “But we’re going out tonight.”

“Out? Where? I don’t feel like going to a club or anything like that.”

“To dinner, which is something both of us need because I’m guessing you haven’t eaten yet.”

“I haven’t, and my fridge is bare as fuck after being on the road the last few days.” I glance down at my joggers and black T-shirt. “Let me change really quick.”

“We’re not going anywhere fancy.” Lexi grabs a paperback off my shelf and sits on the couch, relaxing against the cushions. “And take your time. I started reading this one on my Kindle. Could hardly put it down.”

“Don’t get too sucked in or we’re never going to leave. You want a drink while you wait?”

“Nope.” She flashes me a smile but doesn’t look up from the page she’s on. “I’m all set.”

I stare at her for a minute. She looks perfectly in place there, with a blanket over her lap and her legs curled under her. I don’t even mind that she didn’t take her boots off. I’m too distracted picturing her like this every night: after a game, in one of my shirts, a mark on her neck that I left behind.

It’s easy to imagine it. We’ve been spending more and more time together, and the fantasy is starting to dance around in my head. Loudly, obnoxiously, and it feels like I’m four seconds away from screaming do you like me back? Yes or no? just so I don’t have to keep this inside anymore.

In a fit of spontaneity, I walk over to her. I touch her cheek, and she finally looks up at me.

“I’m glad you’re here,” I say to her, and her face softens. A smile pulls at one corner of her mouth, and I bend to kiss her right there, just so I can have the beam all for myself. “If you want to stay on the couch and read all night, I’ll order us takeout.”

“No. I’ll happily put the book away for you.” She grabs my shirt and tugs me toward her, kissing me again. There’s the swipe of her tongue, the bite of her teeth on my lower lip. I sigh against her mouth, and she pulls away far too quickly. “Can’t wait to see what you’re going to wear, Mitchy.”

“Don’t get your hopes up.”

“I don’t need to. You always look great.”

I blush, the compliment meaning more from her than it would from another woman. “Right back at you, Armstrong.”

“Go.” She swats at my arm, and I can’t help but laugh. “You’re distracting me from my reading.”

“I’m going to get dressed extra slow just so you can finish that chapter.”

“A man after my own heart.” She winks, and I rub a hand over my chest.

It feels more and more like my heart isn’t even my own anymore.

It’s hers, and I think it’s always going to be hers.

* * *

The sports bar Lexi picks is loud and busy. I put my hand on the small of her back as we make our way through the crowded restaurant, not wanting her to get jostled by the group of drunk guys around the bar who are yelling about our shitty baseball team.

We find a table toward the back against the wall, and we slide onto the wooden barstools across from each other. Our knees are touching because of the small space, but I don’t mind. I like her close to me. I like having the option to touch her if I wanted to, and fuck , do I want to.

“I’m not totally digging the ambience, but they apparently have good burgers. I’m hoping that will make up for the douchebags screaming at the TV. I’m glad the pitcher can’t hear them. Sports fans are ruthless,” she says.

“It’s funny. I doubt any of them could throw a baseball more than four feet, but they’re out here acting like they’re the next Cy Young.”

“Do you have anywhere you like to go in the city?”

“If I’m going out with someone, I prefer it to be somewhere more intimate. So I can hear what they’re saying and hold a conversation, you know?”

“Oh.” She sits up and grins. “Is this your romantic side?”

“It’s the decent human side of me.”

“I bet you’d be fun to go on a date with. You’re probably all smooth moves and that whole oh, you have something on your shoulder, let me get it for you trick where you end up having your arms around her.”

I snort. “The arm around the shoulder. Acting like I can’t hear her, grabbing her stool, and scooting it closer. Pretending like she has something on her face, but it’s really just an excuse to touch her. The perfect date hat trick.”

“I want to see Date Riley,” she says.

“No, you don’t. I’m really not that exciting.”

“Come on, Mitchy.” Lexi sticks out her bottom lip in a pout. “Show me what you’re like on a date.”

“You never go on dates,” I say. “I remember you being specifically anti-dates.”

“Tonight I’m not. Tonight I do go on dates. I picked you up from your apartment. I’m wearing my nicest underwear. This is absolutely a date. Or, at the very least, a pretend date.”

“Nicest underwear? I hope I get to see them later.”

“Only if you answer my question,” she teases.

“Fine.” I grin. “I’d start the night by picking you up from your place with your favorite flowers.”

“Tulips,” she says. “Which is a frustrating choice, because they don’t bloom up here until April. What’s next?”

“I’d tell you how hot you look in your skirt and how much I like your boots.”

“They’re cute boots, aren’t they?”

“Very cute.” I put my hand on her leg and give her knee a gentle squeeze. It’s only been two days since we last slept together, but I missed the feel of her skin, how warm and soft she is. “Next, I’d ask what you want to order for dinner.”

“You wouldn’t order for me?”

“Fuck no. You’re an independent woman who can speak for herself. And, on the off chance you don’t like what you pick, I’d make sure to let you try some of my meal too.”

“Shared custody of our french fries? I like where this is going.” Lexi reaches for my collar and tugs on my shirt. Our faces are inches apart, and I can see the brightness in her eyes. “Give me more, Riley.”

“Well”—I blush and clear my throat—“we’d talk. I’d ask about your job and your family. I’d compliment you and tell you how beautiful you look,which you do. You always do, with your strong legs and your pretty smile. I’d laugh at your jokes even if they weren’t funny, and at the end, I’d pay for our meal, kiss your forehead, and text you when I got home.”

“My forehead? That’s a tease.”

“Yup. You should always leave them wanting more.”

“Where are the ropes?” she asks. “And the orgasm denials? And the blowjobs? You’re holding out on me, Mitchy.”

“Ah.” I didn’t think it was possible for my cheeks to get even redder, but here we are. “I only do that with people I know and trust. People I like.”

“We do all of that.” She smirks. “Must mean you like me.”

I grab her chin and her eyes lock with mine. Her breath hitches when I say, “You have no idea, Lexi.”

There’s an underlying message there.

I like you so fucking much, but I also think I more than like you.

Do you think you could like me too?

Why can’t we give it a chance?

I promise I’ll make it good for you.

Lexi pulls back and tucks a piece of hair behind her ear. “Should we order some fries then? So I can steal some of yours?”

“I’ll give you the whole damn plate, Lex, if it’ll make you happy.”

Her smile is soft, timid. Maybe I’m imagining it because it’s what I want to see, but I swear she inches closer to me. I take matters into my own hands and drag the leg of her stool across the concrete floor, just like I said I would.

“When was the last time you went on a date?”

“Huh.” I put my elbow on the table and frown. “I don’t remember. Maybe a couple years ago? I’ve only had a handful of first dates. Nothing’s ever stuck.”

“Wait, what? That’s a long time. I thought all the guys were playboys.”

“You thought wrong. We’re much more mellow than people think. Except for Ethan. Dude can’t keep it in his pants.”

“Now that I can believe. But don’t change the subject! We’re talking about you. Why hasn’t anything stuck? You’re a great guy.” Her smile is wider now, and I like that she lights up when she talks about me. “A total catch.”

“Shucks. You’re going to make me blush, Lex.”

“I’m serious! You have so many good qualities. A woman would be out of her mind to not want to see you a second time.”

“Don’t know.” I shrug. “Maybe I have bad breath. Or my hands smell too gnarly from my gloves.”

Lexi laughs at that, but I don’t add in the other part: how every date I went on, I’d sit there and wonder what it would be like to be having dinner with her instead. It’s not like she led me on and gave me some false hope of something we could be down the road.

It’s more pathetic than that.

I took one look at her, and I was done for.

I haven’t been able to get her out of my damn head, and I learned a long time ago that as long as we were on the same team, as long as we were in the same zip code and orbiting around each other, I had a shot. And I wasn’t going to blow that shot by going on shitty date after shitty date with someone who wasn’t her .

I rub a hand over my jaw knowing it’s not fair to her to be feeling these things and sleeping with her like everything is platonic between us. But I’m selfish.

I know when I tell her, that’s going to be it, and I want to hold on to her for a little while longer.

“Let me see.” Lexi takes my hands in hers and brings them to her nose. She pretends to gag then laughs again. “Just kidding. They smell very nice. Is that vanilla?”

“Yeah. It’s some soap Hudson told all of us to buy. It’s nice, isn’t it?”

“I can’t find hockey smells anywhere.”

“Probably helps that I haven’t worn any gear in months.”

“You know what I mean.”

I shrug. “I told you what I’m like on a date. What’s Lexi Armstrong like?”

“I don’t go on dates, remember? And if I did, it would include lackluster conversation, then an invitation back to my place to sleep together.”

“I’m listening,” I say. “You’ve never told me why you don’t date. Did someone fuck up once upon a time? Are you secretly not a fan of places with a ton of options on their menus?”

She pauses. “Something like that.”

The answer is stilted, and I can tell she doesn’t want to talk about it, so I switch gears. “What else is on the agenda tonight?”

“Besides hoping all those dudes lose their parlays? I thought maybe we could go bowling or to see a late-night movie. My apartment is starting to feel lonely when I’m there by myself, and as much as I like to be alone, I don’t like to be isolated and sad.”

“My door is always open,” I say, putting a hand back on her knee. “If you ever want company. Any time of day or night.”

“Thanks, Mitchy. I’ll keep that in mind.” Her foot kicks mine, and it feels like we’re the only people in the room. “Let’s order eight rounds of french fries. Shared custody and all of that.”

“Co-parenting. Very mature of us.”

She laughs and so do I. We go through three baskets of fries and start making up stories about who we think the finance bros might be. Her theories make me cackle until my sides hurt, and we never make it to bowling. We close down the restaurant, only leaving when the server turns off the lights and kicks us out. On the walk back to my place, I do the cheesy shoulder trick on her so she’s in my arms. I bend my neck to hear what she has to say and kiss her cheek. And when I drag her to my bed and pull her close, her thigh thrown over mine, I fuck her nice and slow until she’s begging me for more, and it’s the best non-date I’ve ever been on.