Page 52 of I Could Be Yours (The Toronto Terror #6)

ESSIE

“ W here the heck is it?” I plant my hands on my hips, close my eyes, inhale through my nose, and exhale through my mouth. “Please be there when I open my eyes.”

I crack a lid, but my most favorite dress of all is still not where I expect it to be. To be fair, nothing I own is where I expect it to be anymore.

“Do not murder your very smart, very thoughtful, exceptionally organized, well-endowed, hot-as-hell boyfriend who embraces you and your slightly manic love of all things pink and romance because you cannot find your dress. Or literally anything you own,” I mutter.

“Who you talking to, sweetness?” Nate appears out of nowhere.

I shriek and slap a hand to my heart.

He hugs me and kisses the top of my head, and I melt a little at the feel of his arms around me and the smell of his cologne. “I didn’t mean to scare you.” He pulls back, and that delightful furrow in his brow makes traitorous parts of my body excited.

I try to remember that I’m slightly annoyed with him for not being able to telepathically communicate where he’s moved all my things. “Do you know where my pink, cap-sleeved, A-line, knee-length dress with the heart-patterned, hot pink belt is?”

He blinks at me. “I don’t know what half of those descriptors mean.”

“My favorite pink dress. The one that really highlights my cleavage.” It might be modest, but I know how to work it. Also, Nate is highly obsessed with my piercings and never passes up a chance to play with them. “Do you have any idea where it might be?”

“Oh! Yes.” He steps inside the tiny walk-in closet with me.

I move to the doorway so he can turn around because the closet only qualifies as a walk-in when you’re under five-seven and not as broad as the doorway.

“It’s right here.” He magically produces it.

“I reorganized the closet, and since it’s technically autumn as of yesterday, I rotated these dresses to the back and brought your fall clothes to the front.

I don’t know what your fall favorites are yet, but when I do, I’ll cycle them to the front so they’re easy for you to find. ”

He smiles down at me, proud as punch and completely oblivious to the upheaval his organizational skills are creating in my life. But he’s so handsome when he smiles like that. And he’s just trying to be helpful.

“Can you also help me find the shoes that go with the dress?” I ask, as sweetly as I can.

“Absolutely. Again, I cycled your summer shoes to the back of the closet, because of seasonal changes. Your sandals are all here, arranged according to style, height of heel, and color. If you’d prefer closed toes because it gets cooler at night, and I know you’re not a fan of cold toes, your hot pink kitten heels are right here. ” He helpfully pulls down both pairs.

I bat my lashes. “Can you also help me find my matching bra and panty set?”

“Of course.” He leads the way out of the closet, carefully setting the shoeboxes and my dress on the bed before he crosses to the dresser .

Since I’ve become Nate’s girlfriend officially, he’s started spending more nights here, which I love, a lot.

But it means making room for his things in my tiny apartment, like his suits and changes of clothes.

I’ve freed up a couple of drawers in my dresser for boxers, socks, T-shirts, and loungewear.

Nate took it upon himself to reorganize the kitchen cupboards to make room for his snacks and his collection of Star Wars glassware.

I should not be surprised that C-3PO is his favorite.

I love Nate. I love his big brain and his thoughtfulness and snuggling with him when he sleeps over.

I love the days that start and end with his beautiful face the most. But it has become woefully apparent that my apartment will not be big enough for the two of us long term, even with Nate’s remarkable ability to make space where there is none.

He tugs on the knob, revealing brand-new dividers so every single pair of underpants I own now lives in its own little square of space.

“All your everyday bras and underwear are in the top drawer.” He closes it and opens the next one down.

“This is where you’ll find your pajamas and sleep sets.

I can move these down, if you’d prefer, but they’re more-frequent-use items, so I figured it made the most sense.

” He moves on to the next drawer. “All your athletic wear is in here.” He crouches to get to the bottom.

“And this is where your special lingerie is.” He pulls out my pale pink lace and satin set. “Is this the one you were looking for?”

“That’s the one.”

He passes me the bra and panties.

I shrug out of my robe. I’m naked underneath.

His nostrils flare. He glances at the clock on the nightstand, then back at me. “Can I make you come before we go?”

Despite the orgasm turning into two and me climbing into his lap to ride his big, beautiful cock, we still manage to make it to the restaurant with two minutes to spare. Double dating with Tristan and Rix is another new favorite thing.

When we arrive, Rix hops up and hugs me, and I squeeze her back.

We settle in the seats across from them, and Nate stretches his arm across the back of my chair at the same time Tristan does this with Rix.

Like mirrors of each other, Rix and I lean into our men, both smiling and happy to have the connection.

“Not long now before the official start of the season,” I note. “How are you feeling with it being Ryker’s time to step up?”

Roman Forrest-Hammer, formerly Hammerstein, the Terror’s long-time goalie, hung up his skates at the end of last season, and Kellan Ryker, the backup goalie, is stepping into his shoes.

“Good. Ryker is excited to be in net. He has the skill set, and we have a great defensive line,” Tristan replies.

“I’m so glad the Terror picked up Quinn Romero in the trades. It was a good move,” Rix says.

“I agree.” Tristan nods. “I know it’s his first year in the pros, but he’s still a seasoned player, and he’ll be good for the offensive line with Hollis off the ice, too.”

“I love that Roman and Hollis are coaching at the Hockey Academy together.” They’re already proving to be quite the coaching duo for the boys’ team.

“Right? Brody had such a great summer with them.” Tristan smiles. “I have a feeling they’ll be instrumental in feeding the Terror the best up-and-comers in future seasons.”

There’s a collective buzz at the table as all of our phones chime with a new message. And then chime again. And again.

“Maybe Shilpa finally had the baby!” Rix and I rush to dig our phones out of our bags.

I pull up the group chat message. “I still can’t believe this is really happening.”

“Is it about Dred and Connor?” Nate asks.

Rix and I both hold our phones up so the boys can see the engagement party invitation.

Last week Dred and Connor announced their engagement.

It came out of left field, and there are obviously things none of us know, but Dred has asked us to support her, so that’s what we’re doing. Or at least trying .

“I still don’t understand what’s going on there,” Tristan mutters.

“I don’t think any of us do,” I reply. “Maybe they hooked up at your wedding in secret and that got the ball rolling?” We were all exceptionally preoccupied with other things.

“I mean…I guess it’s possible,” Rix muses.

We’ve had countless hypothetical conversations about this. None of them quite seem plausible. “How’s Flip handling this?”

Nate fingers an errant pink curl. “I mean, obviously he’s not the happiest about it—especially since Dred won’t tell him why she’s doing this—but he’s trying to be a good friend.”

“Do you think it would help if Flip knew all the things Connor did behind the scenes at your wedding?” I ask softly.

“Connor made it clear he didn’t want anyone to know he was directly involved,” Tristan replies. “And I want to honor that, because he saved us more than once.”

We leave the Dred and Connor situation alone and Tristan talks about how excited he is to test out Nate’s most recent prototype. Nate thinks this could be the one. It feels amazing to be able to spend time with my best friend and my boyfriend.

Rix and Tristan go over to see Flip after dinner, and Nate and I head back to my place.

“This season might be a tough one,” Nate says as we enter the apartment, toeing off our shoes at the door.

“It might.” I wrap my arms around his waist. “But we’ll all be here to support them, however they need us.”

“It’s a pretty incredible family we’ve inherited with this group of friends, isn’t it?” Nate lifts me onto the counter and steps between my legs.

“It really is.”

“I wonder how soon the wedding will be,” he muses.

“That’s a good question. It’s been all of a week, and the engagement party is already happening.”

He pulls down the zipper on my dress. “I wonder who will end up together at the next wedding? ”

“I already have some ideas.” I wrap my arms and legs around him. “Take me to bed and make me yours.”

“Your wish is my command.”