Page 37 of Love Me (Charlotte Monarchs Hockey #1)
“Time to hit the rapids.” She stands up and wiggles her index finger, beckoning me to follow her. I love that she takes charge as if she’s the one who’s been here a hundred times.
We follow the other rafters to the open area where we meet our guide and the other people who will be in our raft since there are only two of us and a raft fits six to eight people.
As we strap on our red life jackets, I lean over and ask, “Should we make a bet on who falls out first?”
“Sure, but I gotta warn you, I haven’t fallen out since my first time rafting.” She checks her straps before glancing up at me.
“Neither have I.”
A tingle zips through me when I place the white helmet on my head and fasten the strap under my chin. Between the vest and the headgear, it feels like I’m suiting up for a game. I push the similarity away. I don’t want any melancholic thoughts while on this date.
Bree wasn’t kidding when she said she was good at rafting. She seats herself with her legs wide and her toes secured under a strap and digs her oar into the water with ferocity, calling out almost as many instructions as our guide.
Everyone gets doused with water as the raft jumps and dips over and through the level-three rapids.
I’m bounced out of my seat a few times but recover quickly.
Every time it gets rough, I glance at Bree.
She’s got this wild, crazy grin on her face, enjoying every minute of the experience.
For such a petite girl, she’s tough and sturdy. She glances at me and winks.
That’s my downfall. I’m so busy looking at her, transfixed, that I’m not paying attention to what I should be doing. The raft hits a huge boulder and flips up.
One minute, I’m in the boat, and the next, I’m underwater, chomping waves.
That only lasts a second before I bob to the surface.
When you’re in level-three and four rapids, you can’t swim; the current is too strong.
I’ve fallen out before, so I follow the instructions we were taught in the rafting orientation even though I didn’t pay attention to them this time.
I lie back like a dead bug and let the current take me to the open pool of water where the rapids stop.
As I glide through the rest of the course, I pass a few of the other people who fell out of our raft. They’re trying to hold on to rocks near the water’s edge. The water is fast and powerful, and the rocks are super slippery, but they’re probably freaked out and don’t want to do the dead-bug thing.
I get it. It’s scary if you’ve never done it before.
Finally, my ride ends, and I’m dumped into the stagnant water. Another guy from our boat pops out right next to me.
“Nice ride, eh?” I say, treading water even though my vest will keep me afloat.
“Thank god it’s warm today,” he responds, and we share a laugh.
I crane my neck, waiting for Bree to sail down dead-cockroach style and join us. I doubt she’s one of the rock huggers. She’s too experienced to choose that option.
Seconds later, I see our raft coming down the rapids, still going strong.
There are only two people inside—Bree and the guide.
They slide into the calm water and paddle over to us.
I grab the side of the raft and use my arm strength to lift myself up and climb into the boat.
Then I grab the other guy’s arm and assist him in.
I slide onto the seat next to Bree. “You’re a total badass.”
Her cheeks are red, and she’s soaked, but she’s still got a grip on the oar. “A badass who won the bet,” she responds.
Without thinking, I lean over and give her a quick kiss right on the lips. Everything about her is sexy and alive. It makes me want to spend every second with her. When I pull away, she’s still smiling.
“We never set the terms. What does the winner want?” I ask.
A sly smile creeps onto her lips, and her eyes hold a mischievous sparkle. “More of that. But lower.”
We’re sitting next to each other but are still in a raft with two strangers. I glance up to see if we have an audience.
“Get it, man,” our guide says, sending an air fist bump across the distance between us.
Bree laughs. She and the guide start rowing us to the giant conveyor belt that will take us back to the start of the rapids for another go.
I can honestly say that the day I spent with Bree at the Whitewater Center has been one of the best days of my life.
Bree is effortlessly girl-next-door sexy.
She’s the quintessential California girl people write songs about.
Which is a refreshing change from the LA-type girls who caught my eye in the past. The ones who come around when they see hockey players getting table service at a club.
Too much makeup; not enough clothes; ready to drink, smoke, and snort whatever they’re offered.
I’m not saying they’re bad people. Hell, I’ve met some hella cool chicks while out in LA and Vegas, but there’s always a layer of fake I can’t get past. I mean, I can look past it for one night, but those aren’t the kind of girls I want to be with long-term.
I want to recognize the person I go to bed with when I wake up the next morning.
“Today has been amazing,” Bree says, leaning back in her chair. She lifts a plastic cup of whatever craft beer she ordered to her lips.
We’re sitting at a table outside of River’s Edge, the bar and grill inside the Whitewater Center, watching other rafters and kayakers go through the rapids.
I lean back and let the sun warm my face. People around us talk and laugh. Rafters scream. Someone on the zip line whooshes over our heads.
“They have a yoga series on Thursday nights. We should come up here for it,” I suggest. “Do you like yoga?”
“You should see my downward dog.”
“I’d love to.” My eyes veer to her ass, which she’s sitting on, so it’s not like I have a view of anything good.
But when she mentions downward dog, I can’t help but think about how the pose is head down, ass up.
And then my stupid fucking dirty mind goes straight to how much I’d love to get behind Bree while she’s in that position and?—
“What are you thinking about, Luke?” she asks.
Her question jerks me out of my fantasy.
“Huh?” I shake my head and lift my eyes to hers.
“You have this happy, dazed look on your face.”
“Honestly?” I ask. She smiles and nods. “I was thinking about you naked in the downward dog position, and how if we were at my condo right now, I’d be fucking you from behind.”
Bree snorts and spews beer all over the table. She wipes her mouth with her palm, then rubs her hand on her shorts. “You’re so freaking awesome, Luke.”
“Yeah, well, you bring out the best in me, Bree.” Even though she appreciated the frisky comment, I feel the need to follow it up with something serious.
I don’t want her to have the impression that she’s just a piece of ass.
“I like being with you. I keep thinking of all the things I want to do with you. All the places I’m going to take you to. ”
“Tell me more.”
“Well, we’ll obviously come here at least once a week. It’s open year-round, and there’s always something to do, even if we’re just hiking the trails. And one of the local theater companies organizes the Shakespeare on the Green festival in the park across from the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art.”
As I speak, Bree’s smile dims, and I wonder what I said to make that happen.
“Not a Shakespeare fan?” I ask. “We can cut him out.”
“Willy S. is the bomb. It’s just…you know I’m only in Charlotte for a few more weeks, Luke,” Bree says softly as if she’s afraid her words will break me.
“I know. I just thought… I thought maybe you’d stay.”
She looks away, out at the rapids. At first, her silence stings like a slap shot to the nose. Bree is the first woman I’ve ever wanted to see every single day. I can’t believe it’s only one-sided.
When she turns back to me, she smiles. “Maybe,” she says.
Though I know how she feels about getting too involved, things changed over the last few weeks. We started getting close to each other on a deeper level, so much so that she’s already dug her way into my heart and burrowed right in.
At first, I thought how quickly I fell for her and that the intensity of my feelings were just a distraction—a way to take my mind off the fact that I’m not playing hockey anymore.
But it’s not like that at all. When we aren’t together, I crave being with her. Just thinking like that fucks with my head. I hate being dependent on anyone or anything.
“I just want to let you know that you’re going to spend every free second with me from now until the moment you leave.”
“Oh, really?” she asks.
“And I’m pretty sure you’ll be riding my dick for a ridiculous number of those seconds,” I add to lighten the mood.
I know she’s smiling, but instead of catching her eyes to show her just how hot I am for her, I turn my gaze back to the rapids still going strong even though there are no more rafters today.
Bree may not want to admit how much she likes me yet, but I’m not letting this relationship go easily. Spending the rest of my life with someone never crossed my mind before I met her, and I’m not letting her leave for California until she realizes how serious I am.